Quick Facts
Biography
Fernando Lazaro Aenlle-Rocha (born 1961) is a California state court judge and a nominee to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Early life and career
Aenlle-Rocha earned his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and his Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law. After graduating from law school, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and was then an associate with Stephan, Oringher, Richman & Theodora. He later became a partner at McDermott Will & Emery. Before becoming a judge, Aenlle-Rocha was a partner at White & Case, he focused on business litigation, white collar criminal defense, and business crimes investigations. He was appointed by Governor of California Jerry Brown to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2017, where he presently serves.
Nomination to federal district court
On August 28, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Aenlle-Rocha to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. On October 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Aenlle-Rocha to the seat vacated by Judge S. James Otero, who took senior status on December 30, 2018. A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on December 4, 2019. On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 9, 2020, he was renominated to the same seat. His nomination is currently pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee.