Who appointed Michael Walter Fitzgerald?

President Barack Obama appointed Michael Walter Fitzgerald to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2012.

Was Michael Walter Fitzgerald appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Michael Walter Fitzgerald was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Michael Walter Fitzgerald's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Michael Walter Fitzgerald 91–6 on March 15, 2012.

Central District of California / Appointed 2012 / Active

Michael Walter Fitzgerald

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

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 91–6, Michael Walter Fitzgerald is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He earned a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1985. Sources ↓

Born: 1959 · age 67
Appointed by: Barack Obama, 2012
Confirmed: 91–6
Education: Harvard 1981 · University of California, Berkeley, Law 1985
Succeeded: A. Howard Matz

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2012	Central District of California succeeded A. Howard Matz	Obama (D)	91–6

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

Confirmation vote

Nomination Confirmed 91–6 on March 15, 2012 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 50. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 91

51 D, 38 R, 2 I

Voted against · 6

6 R

Roy Blunt(R-MO)
James DeMint(R-SC)
Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
Mike Lee(R-UT)
Rand Paul(R-KY)
David Vitter(R-LA)

Did not vote · 3

3 R

Education

Harvard University	A.B.	1981
University of California, Berkeley, School of Law	J.D.	1985

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Fitzgerald was assigned 5,929 district-court cases (1981–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 132 days across 5,378 closed cases.

Other civil matters39%

Civil rights17%

Other federal statutes8%

Intellectual property7%

Contract6%

Labor & ERISA5%

Other19%

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 274 of Fitzgerald’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 192 were affirmed, 50 reversed or vacated, and 32 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.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Michael Walter Fitzgerald?: President Barack Obama appointed Michael Walter Fitzgerald to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2012.
Was Michael Walter Fitzgerald appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Michael Walter Fitzgerald was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Michael Walter Fitzgerald's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Michael Walter Fitzgerald 91–6 on March 15, 2012.
Which court is Michael Walter Fitzgerald on?: Michael Walter Fitzgerald is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Sources

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

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