John C. Rayburn Jr. Appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

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John C. Rayburn Jr. Appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge

By a MetNews Staff Writer

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Rayburn Jr. has joined the federal bench as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Central District of California.

Sworn in Friday to an eight-year term, Rayburn succeeds Magistrate Judge Stephen G. Larson, who was elevated to a district judgeship earlier this year. Rayburn will sit in the Central District’s Riverside courthouse.

“I’m very excited about the new opportunity and thankful for the chance to serve the Central District,” he told the MetNews.

Rayburn, 46, joined the bench after serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in Riverside for 15 years, most recently as chief of the office. During his tenure, he received numerous awards including the Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance and the Special Achievement Award Recognizing Sustained Superior Performance of Duty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Pym, Rayburn’s successor as chief in Riverside, said her office considered Rayburn eminently qualified for the position and that attorneys there looked forward to appearing before him in his new assignment.

Rayburn was admitted to the State Bar in 1990 after earning his law degree from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall. Having received a B.S. in electrical engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo in 1982, Rayburn also holds an 1987 M.B.A. degree from California State University at San Diego.

He previously served as a law clerk to now-retired District Judge Gary L. Taylor in Santa Ana, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Bar Association’s Inland Empire affiliate.

Rayburn’s duties as magistrate judge will include conducting preliminary proceedings in criminal cases, the trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases, and discovery in pretrial matters and relevant hearings in civil cases.

He will serve as one of the 23 full-time magistrate judges in the Central District, the nation’s largest federal district, comprised of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties.