Charles R. Breyer

Charles R. Breyer
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office November 12, 1997
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	D. Lowell Jensen
Personal details
Born	1941 San Francisco, California
Alma mater	Harvard College (A.B.) Boalt Hall School of Law (J.D.)

Charles R. Breyer (born 1941) is a United States federal judge.

Early life and career

Born in San Francisco, California, Breyer received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1963 and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1966. He was a law clerk to Oliver Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1966 to 1967. He was a Counsel, Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, California in 1967, and was then an assistant district attorney for the City & County of San Francisco, California from 1967 to 1973.

Breyer was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1974, and then entered private practice in San Francisco, California from 1974 to 1979 to 1997, interrupted by a brief stint as chief assistant district attorney of the City and County of San Francisco, California in 1979.

Federal judicial service

On July 24, 1997, Breyer was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by D. Lowell Jensen. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 8, 1997, and received his commission on November 12, 1997.

Notable cases

Breyer presided over the Ed Rosenthal trial in 2007, in Rosenthal's federal prosecution for distribution of marijuana for medical use. He also presided over the stock-options backdating trial of Brocade Communications Systems CEO Gregory Reyes in 2007.

Personal life

Breyer is the brother of U.S. Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer.^[1] Justice Breyer has recused himself from appeals of cases tried by his brother: Olympic Airways v. Husain, Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker, United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Co-op, and Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farm.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ Scheck, Justin (September 1, 2005). "Federal Judge Breyer Runs Up Against Brother's Supreme Court Ruling". The Recorder (law.com). http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1125527677250. Retrieved May 14, 2009. 
2. ^ http://volokh.com/2010/02/09/o-brother-where-art-thou/
3. ^ http://lawyersusaonline.com/dcdicta/2010/04/28/breyer-recused-in-monsanto-critics-ask-why-didnt-thomas/

• Charles R. Breyer at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Persondata
Name	Breyer, Charles R.
Alternative names
Short description	United States federal judge
Date of birth	1941
Place of birth	San Francisco, California
Date of death
Place of death