Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Page 4
Kelly Kato Selected as Magistrate Judge for Central District
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Kenly Kiya Kato was selected and sworn in yesterday as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Central District of California, the court said in a release.
Kato, who will sit in Riverside, was a sole practitioner in Palm Desert prior to her appointment, focused primarily on federal criminal defense work. She has also represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil rights and employment litigation.
Kato is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School. She was admitted to the State Bar in 1997, and was a deputy federal public defender before entering private practice.
She started her legal career as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Robert M. Takasugi, now deceased. She has also served as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, as a member of the Merit Selection Panel, and as a member of the Standing Committee on Attorney Discipline.
Magistrate Judges are appointed by the district judges for a term of eight years, after screening by the Merit Selection Panel, and can be reappointed to additional terms.
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