Brianna Mircheff Appointed as United States Magistrate Judge

Posted by on April 18, 2023 in Press & Internal News

Appeals Unit Chief Brianna Fuller Mircheff

Former FPD-CDCA Deputy Federal Public Defender and Chief of the Appeals Unit was appointed as United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California.

From the United States District Court:

The United States District Court for the Central District of California announces the appointment of Brianna Fuller Mircheff as a United States Magistrate Judge. Judge Mircheff, who was sworn in on April 18, 2023, will preside over matters in Los Angeles in the Court’s Western Division. Judge Mircheff succeeds former Magistrate Judge Paul L. Abrams.

Before her appointment as a magistrate judge, Judge Mircheff served in multiple roles at the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California. From 2006 to 2010, Judge Mircheff served as a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Trial Unit where she represented clients charged with a broad range of federal offenses and handled all aspects of representation in the district court. From 2010 to 2017, Judge Mircheff served in the Appeals Unit handling direct appeals while also managing office-wide post-conviction litigation projects. She also served as the office’s immigration specialist from 2011 to 2015. Most recently, since 2018, Judge Mircheff served as the office’s Chief of Writs and Appeals. In that role, she supervised a team of attorneys, oversaw the office’s post-sentencing litigation, participated in the office’s management team, chaired the office’s ethics committee, managed the district’s Criminal Justice Act Appellate Panel, and maintained her own caseload involving direct appeals, habeas petitions, and other post-conviction matters. Judge Mircheff also had an active amicus practice.

Over the course of her career, Judge Mircheff has regularly conducted trainings on a wide array of legal issues. Judge Mircheff is a member of multiple bar organizations, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Federal Defenders. She also serves as a mentor for The Appellate Project, which aims to increase diversity in the appellate field.

Judge Mircheff received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Messiah College in 2001, and her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 2005. Following law school, Judge Mircheff clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Including the position now occupied by Judge Mircheff, the Central District of California has 24 full- time and one part-time magistrate judge positions. The Central District of California is comprised of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. It serves more than 19.3 million people, nearly half the population of the State of California.

Judge Mircheff joins an impressive list of former FPD-CDCA alumni who have become judges, including:

Rudolph Diaz Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Michael L. Stern Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Drew E. Edwards Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Teresa Sanchez-Gordin Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Maria E. Stratton Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal
Dennis J. Landin Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
John P. Martin Administrative Law Judge
Denise Meyer Administrative Law Judge
Olivia W. Karlin Administrative Law Judge
Jesus G. Bernal United States District Judge
Paul L. Abrams United States Magistrate Judge
Stephen J. Hillman United States Magistrate Judge
Brian Q. Robbins United States Magistrate Judge
Victor B. Kenton United States Magistrate Judge
Oswaldo Parada United States Magistrate Judge
K. Kiya Kato United States District Judge
Alicia Y. Blanco Los Angeles County Commissioner
Steve Cochran Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Michael D. Abzug Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Georgina Rizk Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
James R. Dunn Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Michael Garcia Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Kerry Bensinger Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Yolanda Orozco Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Elizabeth Macias Orange County Superior Court Judge
Firdaus Dordi Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Ashfaq (Ron) Chowdhury Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Stephanie Thornton-Harris San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge
Christopher Dybwad Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Emily Garcia Uhrig Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Mary E. Kelly Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Anne Hwang Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Pedro Castillo United States Magistrate Judge
Alicia Y. Blanco Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Ronald O. Kaye Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Margo Rocconi United States Magistrate Judge
Patricia A. Young Los Angeles Superior Court Judge
Gia Kim Los Angeles Superior Court Judge
Brianna Fuller Mircheff United States Magistrate Judge
David Wasserman Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Gary Rowe Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Michael Weinstein Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge