Who appointed Larry Alan Burns?

President George W. Bush appointed Larry Alan Burns to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 2003.

Was Larry Alan Burns appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Larry Alan Burns was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Larry Alan Burns's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Larry Alan Burns 91–0 on September 24, 2003.

Southern District of California / Appointed 2003 / Served to 2024

Larry Alan Burns

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003 and confirmed by the Senate 91–0, Larry Alan Burns was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He earned a law degree from University of San Diego School of Law in 1979. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Born: 1954 · age 72
Appointed by: George W. Bush, 2003
Confirmed: 91–0
Education: Point Loma College (now Point Loma Nazarene) 1976 · University of San Diego Law 1979
Succeeded by: Andrew George Schopler

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2003	Southern District of California	G.W. Bush (R)	91–0

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.

Confirmation vote

Nomination Confirmed 91–0 on September 24, 2003 · 108th Congress, Roll Call 363. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 91

43 D, 47 R, 1 I

Did not vote · 9

5 D, 4 R

Education

Point Loma College (now Point Loma Nazarene University)	B.A.	1976
University of San Diego School of Law	J.D.	1979

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Burns was assigned 2,839 district-court cases (1980–2024). Median time from filing to termination: 159 days across 2,839 closed cases.

Prisoner & habeas17%

Other federal statutes16%

Civil rights16%

Contract9%

Other civil matters9%

Intellectual property6%

Other28%

Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.

On appeal

Of 269 of Burns’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 209 were affirmed, 47 reversed or vacated, and 13 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.

In our data, Burns authored 37 published opinions for the court (1999–2011). Most cited: Walker v. Woodford (55 citations).

A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.

Recent & notable rulings

Year	Case	Citation	Cited
2006	Walker v. Woodford	454 F. Supp. 2d 1007	55
2007	Cattie v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.	504 F. Supp. 2d 939	51
2007	Harris v. Stonecrest Care Auto Center, LLC	472 F. Supp. 2d 1208	20
1999	Cooper v. Garcia	55 F. Supp. 2d 1090	16
2004	e-Realbiz.com, LLC v. Protocol Communications, Inc. (In Re Real Marketing Services, LLC)	309 B.R. 783	14
2006	Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. v. American International Surplus Lines Insurance	465 F. Supp. 2d 1005	11
2005	Fantasyland Video, Inc. v. County of San Diego	373 F. Supp. 2d 1094	11
2002	Munoz v. Kolender	208 F. Supp. 2d 1125	11
2010	Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation v. United States Department of the Interior	755 F. Supp. 2d 1104	10
2000	Empresa Constructora Contex Limitada v. Iseki, Inc.	106 F. Supp. 2d 1020	10
2004	Church Mutual Insurance v. United States Liability Insurance	347 F. Supp. 2d 880	9
2009	Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Streshly	655 F. Supp. 2d 1136	8
2010	Easter v. CDC	694 F. Supp. 2d 1177	7
2009	MESA GRANDE BAND OF MISSION INDIANS v. Salazar	657 F. Supp. 2d 1169	6
2006	Rouse v. Law Offices of Rory Clark	465 F. Supp. 2d 1031	6

Showing the 15 most-cited of 37 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Larry Alan Burns?: President George W. Bush appointed Larry Alan Burns to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 2003.
Was Larry Alan Burns appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Larry Alan Burns was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Larry Alan Burns's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Larry Alan Burns 91–0 on September 24, 2003.
Which court was Larry Alan Burns on?: Larry Alan Burns was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.

20 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).