Larry Alan Burns | |
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| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California | |
| In office January 22, 2021 – May 1, 2024 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California | |
| In office January 23, 2019 – January 22, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Barry Ted Moskowitz |
| Succeeded by | Dana Sabraw |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California | |
| In office September 25, 2003 – January 22, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 116 Stat. 1758 |
| Succeeded by | Andrew G. Schopler |
| Magistrate Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California | |
| In office June 1997 – September 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Larry Alan Cockburn[1] (1954-06-29)June 29, 1954 (age 71)[1] Pasadena, California, U.S.[1] |
| Spouse | Kristi L. Francis[1] |
| Residence(s) | San Diego, California, U.S.[1] |
| Education | Point Loma College (BA) University of San Diego (JD) |
Larry Alan Burns (born June 29, 1954) is a retiredUnited States District Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Born in Pasadena, California, as Larry Alan Cockburn, his last name was later changed to Burns at the age of 3 in 1957.[1] He is of Scottish ancestry on his father's side and Armenian ancestry on his mother's side. Burns received aBachelor of Arts degree fromPoint Loma College in 1976 and aJuris Doctor from theUniversity of San Diego School of Law in 1979.[2] He is the son of aPasadena police officer. He was a Deputy District Attorney of San Diego County, California from 1979 to 1985.[2] He was anAssistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1985 to 1997.[3]
In 1997, Burns was appointed to serve as aUnited States Magistrate Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California.[4] He was nominated as aUnited States District Judge by PresidentGeorge W. Bush on May 1, 2003, to a new seat on the Southern District of California created by 116 Stat. 1758.[2] The American Bar Association unanimously rated him "well qualified" for the position, its highest rating. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on September 24, 2003 by a vote of 91-0.[4] He received his commission on September 25, 2003.[2] He became Chief Judge on January 23, 2019 afterBarry Ted Moskowitz assumedsenior status. Burns assumed senior status on January 22, 2021 and retired on May 1, 2024.[2] He joinedJudicate West, a prominent private dispute resolution firm in San Diego, on the same day.
On March 17, 2020, Burns declared a judicial emergency in the Southern District of California for one month, due to theCOVID-19 epidemic. On April 2, the 9th Circuit's Judicial Council permitted the judicial emergency to be extended for one year, until April 17, 2021.[5]
On March 4, 2006, Burns sentenced former U.S. RepresentativeRandy "Duke" Cunningham to eight years and four months in federal prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors in return for smoothing the way for government contracts. It was the longest sentence ever imposed up to that time on a former member of Congress. During the sentencing, Burns told Cunningham "You undermined the opportunity and option for honest politicians to do a good job."
On November 5, 2007, Burns sentencedFrancisco Javier Arellano Félix, head of the notorious Arrellano Felix drug cartel, to life in prison. During the sentencing hearing, Burns told Arrellano Felix "Your family name will live in infamy." U.S. authorities had captured Arrellano Felix a year earlier in international waters off Mexico's Baja California coast. Burns later sentenced brothers Benjamin Arrellano Felix and Edward Arrellano Felix and other cartel lieutenants to long prison terms.
On January 12, 2011, Chief JudgeAlex Kozinski of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit selected Burns to be the presiding judge for the trial ofJared Lee Loughner.[3][6] Burns was selected, in part, for his prior experience with cases involving thefederal death penalty.[3]The entire federal judiciary of Arizona recused themselves from the case due to their ties to the lateJohn Roll, a federal judge who had been killed in the shooting, prompting the appointment of a judge from outside Arizona.[7][8]
On December 20, 2012, Burns wrote an op-ed column in theLos Angeles Times calling for a reinstatement of the federalassault weapons ban. In the article, Burns described himself as an ardent conservative and gun owner who nonetheless felt there was no "social utility" for high-capacityclips. Besides the 31-round magazine Loughner used in his Glock, Burns cited as examples the 100-round drum magazine used byJames Holmes in the2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting and the 30-round magazine used by Adam Lanza in theSandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Burns called for Congress to reinstate the ban without thegrandfather clause of the original ban, which allowed those who already owned a weapon on the banned list to keep it. "If we can't find a way to draw sensible lines with guns that balance individual rights and the public interest," Burns wrote, "we may as well call the experiment with American democracy a failure."[9]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Seat established by 116 Stat. 1758 | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California 2003–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |