Judge Bars California Prosecutor From Cases Over Unlawful Role
WHO:
ABC7 Los Angeles - U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche issued the revised designation limiting some of Essayli’s duties.
Fox News - Bill Essayli said the Supreme Court would ultimately decide his fate.
Los Angeles Times - Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright issued the ruling on Essayli’s authority.
Los Angeles Times - Defense attorney H. Dean Steward filed a renewed motion challenging Essayli’s authority and called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.”
Los Angeles Times - Jaime Hector Ramirez and Tu Anh Tran are defendants in the two cases covered by the disqualification order.
Los Angeles Times - Assistant U.S. Atty. Alexander Robbins argued for the government that a revised delegation placed Essayli’s authority within the limits set by the appeals court.
ABC News US - Bill Essayli is a Republican and the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles.
WHAT:
Los Angeles Times - Seabright rejected requests to dismiss the indictments against Jaime Hector Ramirez and Tu Anh Tran, finding they had not demonstrated the substantial prejudice required for dismissal.
ABC7 Los Angeles - Essayli said, “the president and Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.”
Los Angeles Times - The article cited other challenges to Trump administration prosecutor appointments: Alina Habba stepped down as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor after an appeals court found her appointment unlawful, and a judge’s finding that Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed led to dismissal of indictments against James Comey and Letitia James.
ABC7 Los Angeles - Judges have also found interim U.S. attorneys Alina Habba and John Sarcone unlawfully serving; Sarcone was the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.
ABC7 Los Angeles - Essayli said he disagreed with the court’s order and that the president and attorney general “have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.”
Los Angeles Times - Essayli, a former Republican member of the California Assembly from Riverside, pursued criminal charges against protesters, activists and immigrants, dropped cases involving administration allies, and supported lawsuits challenging California transgender and environmental policies.
ABC7 Los Angeles - The Trump administration sought to prevent California election officials from counting ballots of up to 20,000 people it suspects are not U.S. citizens.
ABC7 Los Angeles - Essayli was a former federal prosecutor and state lawmaker who criticized California’s COVID-19 restrictions and prosecuted people protesting Trump’s immigration enforcement in Southern California.
Fox News - A federal judge ruled that Essayli was unlawfully serving as a de facto U.S. attorney.
Los Angeles Times - Seabright ruled Essayli unlawfully served as Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor and ordered him disqualified from participating in or supervising two criminal cases, including supervising the attorneys handling them.
Los Angeles Times - Seabright delayed the disqualifications while considering an anticipated government request for a stay pending appeal.
Los Angeles Times - The judge declined to dismiss the indictments against Ramirez and Tran, finding they had not shown the substantial prejudice required for dismissal.
Los Angeles Times - Seabright wrote, “In sum, Essayli is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” and said the revised delegation “in reality withholds nothing.”
Los Angeles Times - Essayli said his office expected the ruling, that the case “will be decided by the Supreme Court,” and, “I look forward to serving in my current role until then.”
Los Angeles Times - Steward said the Trump administration “ignored the laws governing the appointment of U.S. Attorneys” and alleged that Trump and the Justice Department repeatedly violated the law to install chief federal prosecutors.
ABC News US - A federal judge ruled that Essayli is not legally serving as Los Angeles’ top U.S. prosecutor.
WHERE:
Los Angeles Times - The ruling concerns the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California, based in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Times - The dispute is part of a nationwide contest over the Trump administration’s appointment of prosecutors without Senate confirmation.
WHEN:
Los Angeles Times - Essayli was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney in April 2025.
Los Angeles Times - After reaching the interim role’s 120-day limit, Essayli resigned; then-Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed him special attorney and designated him first assistant.
Los Angeles Times - Seabright’s earlier ruling found Essayli was “not lawfully serving” as acting U.S. attorney but allowed him to exercise authority as a special attorney and first assistant.
Los Angeles Times - Prosecutors have five business days after the ruling to seek a stay; if denied, the disqualifications would take effect one week later, subject to further court orders.
Los Angeles Times - At an Oct. 13 hearing, Robbins warned of “the chaotic practical effects” of an order taking effect without a stay.
WHY:
ABC7 Los Angeles - The administration’s strategy to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit was designed to bypass U.S. Senate confirmation, which generally requires bipartisan support.
Los Angeles Times - Seabright found the Justice Department had delegated powers so broadly that Essayli effectively occupied the U.S. attorney position, which the judge said could not lawfully be delegated to him.
Los Angeles Times - The ruling followed a Ninth Circuit decision rejecting a similar arrangement for Nevada prosecutor Sigal Chattah, holding that a different title could not give an unconfirmed official the full powers of a U.S. attorney.
Los Angeles Times - The Justice Department argued federal law permits the attorney general to delegate a vacant office’s powers and appoint a new first assistant as acting leader; the Supreme Court had not indicated whether it would review the Nevada case.
HOW:
ABC7 Los Angeles - Attorney General Todd Blanche’s revised designation cut some of Essayli’s duties, but Seabright said it did not materially distinguish the arrangement from the one rejected in the Nevada case.
ABC7 Los Angeles - Seabright found that Bondi’s appointment of Essayli as special attorney and designation as first assistant was “identical” to her appointment of Nevada prosecutor Sigal Chattah in those roles.
Los Angeles Times - The Justice Department revised its delegation to exclude certain powers reserved for a U.S. attorney. Seabright ruled the change made no meaningful difference.
Los Angeles Times - The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s Nevada decision.
Los Angeles Times - As of the ruling, Trump had not nominated anyone to serve as U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
(UPDATED October 28, 2026 16:03 UTC)
A federal judge ruled that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, finding that Attorney General Todd Blanche’s revised designation still gives him powers reserved for a U.S. attorney. Judge J. Michael Seabright ordered Essayli disqualified from participating in or supervising two criminal cases, but rejected requests to dismiss the indictments, finding the defendants had not shown the required substantial prejudice. The disqualifications are delayed while the government may seek a stay, and Essayli says the dispute will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 13:05 UTC)
A federal judge ruled that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, finding the Justice Department’s revised delegation did not meaningfully limit his authority. The judge ordered Essayli barred from participating in or supervising two criminal cases, but delayed that order while the government considers seeking a stay and declined to dismiss the defendants’ indictments. Essayli said he disagreed and expects the Supreme Court to decide his fate, while Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a revised designation limiting some of Essayli’s duties.
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(UPDATED October 28, 2026 08:05 UTC)
A federal judge ruled that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, finding that the Justice Department’s revised delegation still gave him the powers of a U.S. attorney. The judge ordered Essayli disqualified from participating in or supervising two criminal cases, but delayed the order while the government considers seeking a stay; he declined to dismiss the indictments, finding the defendants had not shown substantial prejudice. Essayli said the dispute would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, while the ruling follows an appeals court decision rejecting a similar arrangement in Nevada.