United States Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California on April 27, 2018. His chambers are in Sacramento, and he presides over a variety of civil and criminal matters. Prior to October 1, 2020, he sat in the U.S. District Court in Yosemite Valley.
Judge Peterson has served as both a federal prosecutor and a private defense attorney. He began his legal career at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., prosecuting domestic violence offenses, then joined the DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division, appearing in federal trial and appellate courts nationwide. After the Deepwater Horizon explosion, he joined a team that led to corporate guilty pleas and billions of dollars in criminal fines. He co-authored DOJ's "Blue Book" on criminal discovery. In private practice, he represented manufacturers, auto companies, a railroad, and private individuals. He teaches Federal Court Mediation at UC Davis School of Law.
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D., 2006 (cum laude)
- Swarthmore College, B.A., 1999 (with honors)
Career
- 2012–2018: Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington, D.C.
- 2010–2011: U.S. Department of Justice, Deepwater Horizon Task Force, New Orleans, Louisiana
- 2011–2012; 2008–2010: U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Washington, D.C.
- 2007–2008: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, D.C., Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section
- 2006–2007: Law Clerk to Hon. Ruggero J. Aldisert, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit