Mark Christopher Scarsi (born December 23, 1964) is an American lawyer who has served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Central District of California The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a United States district court, federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in South ...

since 2020. Scarsi was confirmed with broad bipartisan support by an 83-12 vote. Prior to his confirmation, Scarsi served as a corporate litigator in Los Angeles.

Early life, education, and career

Scarsi was born in 1964 in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. He studied

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, graduating in 1987 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

. From 1987 to 1993, Scarsi worked as a

software engineer Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software applications. It involves applying engineering principles and computer programming expertise to develop ...

for

GE Aviation General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, is an American aircraft engine supplier that is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It is the legal successor to the original General Electric Company founded in 1892, wh ...

and

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, designing and developing detection and signal processing computer systems for U.S. defense applications. He also did graduate study in computer science at Syracuse, receiving a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in 1993. He then attended

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

, graduating in 1996 with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

, ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'', and

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

honors."President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Eighteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Thirteenth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees" White House, October 10, 2018

Career

After graduating from law school, Scarsi was in private practice at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

law firm Christie, Parker & Hale (now part of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie) from 1996 to 1998. From 1998 to 2007, Scarsi was in practice at

O'Melveny & Myers O'Melveny & Myers LLP is an American multinational law firm founded in Los Angeles in 1885. The firm employs approximately 800 lawyers and has offices in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Texas, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, S ...

, becoming a partner in 2003. In 2007, he joined Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, where he served as the Chair of the firm's Global Intellectual Property Practice and as the Los Angeles office's managing partner. Scarsi noted he only became a

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...

member in 2017 prior to his judicial nomination.

Federal judicial service

On October10, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate Scarsi to serve as a

of the

. On November13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Scarsi to the seat vacated by Judge George H. King, who retired on January6, 2017. On January3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. On January 30, 2019,

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

announced his intent to renominate Scarsi to the district court. On February6, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. A hearing on his nomination before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

was held on November13, 2019. On January3, 2020, his nomination was once again returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January9, 2020, he was renominated to the same seat. On March5, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

. On September14, 2020, the Senate invoked

cloture Cloture (, ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. is ...

on his nomination by a 77–12 vote. On September15, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by a 83–12 vote. He received his judicial commission on September18, 2020. Prior to President Biden's pardon of

Hunter Biden Robert Hunter Biden (born February4, 1970) is an American attorney and businessman. He is the second son of former president Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden was a founding board member of BHR Partners, a Chine ...

in December 2024, he presided over Hunter Biden's case related to tax charges. On September5, 2024, Scarsi accepted Hunter Biden's guilty plea to three felonies and six misdemeanors. Scarsi also serves as the judge in the lawsuit against UCLA related to the Israel-Palestine protests on campus.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scarsi, Mark C. 1964 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers California lawyers California Republicans Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California People associated with Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie People associated with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy People associated with O'Melveny & Myers People from Syracuse, New York Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science alumni United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump