Defense lawyer, prosecutor newest magistrate judges to join San Diego federal bench

A longtime civil litigator and criminal defense attorney was appointed this week as the newest magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, joining a former top federal prosecutor appointed to the same position in August.

Lupe Rodriguez Jr., who litigated civil cases and defended clients for 27 years, took the oath of office Wednesday from Chief District Judge Dana Sabraw and will be based in Imperial County. Rodriguez was appointed to fill the position vacated by Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, who was previously a magistrate judge in El Centro and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a district judge earlier this year.

Lupe Rodriguez Jr.

(Courtesy of Lupe Rodriguez Jr.)

Rodriguez joins Magistrate Judge David Leshner, who was appointed Aug. 15, as the newest federal magistrates in a district that covers San Diego and Imperial counties. Leshner is based at the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego.

Magistrate judges are appointed by district judges and serve eight-year terms, while district judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for life terms. Magistrate judges have authority to issue warrants and conduct most preliminary proceedings — such as initial appearances, arraignments and guilty pleas — in criminal cases. They also handle pretrial motions and hearings in civil and criminal cases, and can preside over civil trials. They do not preside over criminal trials.

Prior to his appointment, Rodriguez’s civil litigation work included handling business and insurance disputes as well as employment and general liability issues, according to a news release from the court. As a defense attorney he represented clients charged with all types of crimes.

Rodriguez, a 1994 graduate of California Western School of Law in downtown San Diego, also served from 2018 to this year as a lawyer representative on the Criminal Justice Act Advisory Committee for the Southern District of California.

Leshner, a 1999 graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, worked in private practice in Los Angeles from 2000 to 2007 before joining the San Diego-area U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to his court biography.

As a prosecutor there, he served as chief of the criminal division before becoming first assistant U.S. attorney, according to the San Diego chapter of the Federal Bar Association. As first assistant, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the office and its nearly 300-person staff, including roughly 140 assistant U.S. attorneys.