The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California is currently short five judges.  The Trump Administration and California’s Democratic senators have settled on a package of five nominees to fill the vacancies.  One of the Republican picks is longtime prosecutor and Federalist Society member Todd Robinson.

Background

Todd Wallace Robinson was born in Jacksonville, FL in 1967.  Robinson attended the University of California, Berkeley, getting his B.A. in 1989.^[1]  He then received a J.D. magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1993.^[2]

After law school, Robinson joined the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney.^[3]  In 1997, he moved to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, where he has stayed since, barring a short stint with the Central Intelligence Agency.^[4] 

History of the Seat

Robinson has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, to a seat vacated on September 30, 2016, by Judge Marilyn Huff’s move to senior status.  As the seat opened with around four months left in the Obama Administration, they did not put forward a nomination to fill the seat.

In January 2017, Robinson broached his interest in the vacancy with Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).^[5]  He interviewed with Issa in January 2018 and then with selection committees set up by California’s Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris in late 2018.^[6]  In March 2019, Robinson interviewed with the White House and then again with Feinstein’s office in August 2019 before his nomination on November 21, 2019.

Legal Experience

Robinson has spent virtually his entire career as a federal prosecutor, where he has handled a number of high profile immigration, terrorism, and narcotics cases.  Notably, Robinson led the racketeering prosecution against the Mexican Mafia prison gang, using organized crime laws to target gang activity.^[7]  Under his leadership, the Office used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which was tailored to target organized crime, against gang and drug crime, indicting over 200 defendants, including members of the Arellano Felix drug cartel and the North Park gang.^[8]

In another significant matter, Robinson led the prosecution of three Pakistani nationals who sought to purchase Stinger missiles in an effort to target U.S. aircraft in Afghanistan.^[9]

Overall Assessment

Handling a heavy caseload of drugs, guns, immigration, and terrorism cases, Robinson  possesses the familiarity with the criminal half of his likely docket on the Southern District.  While some senators may question Robinson’s comparative lack of experience on the civil side, this should pose little threat to his nomination.  

If confirmed, Robinson’s background is likely to make him a conservative presence on the Southern District, particularly on criminal issues.  As such, he may follow in the mold of Chief Judge Larry Burns, another longtime federal prosecutor.

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