US Capitol building. Photo: ALM

President Donald Trump on Wednesday made his first nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, selecting Fresno litigator Dirk Paloutzian to serve on the caseload-burdened court.

Paloutzian is a partner at Baker Manock & Jensen, where he specializes in defending health care providers, probate litigation and agribusiness issues, according to the firm. He spent five year as a Fresno County deputy district attorney and served as the office's first elder abuse prosecutor. Prior to that, Paloutzian worked for the Fresno firm of McCormick Barstow.

If confirmed, Paloutzian would join a court beleaguered by vacancies and an overwhelming caseload. In February, U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd of the Eastern District of California announced emergency procedures for the Fresno courthouse after retirements and staffing issues left him as the only non-senior judge at that site.

Drozd wrote in two standing orders that he would no longer be able to hear oral arguments in all civil motions. Additionally, he warned that civil trials already scheduled through 2021 were unlikely to proceed on time.

Drozd said his focus had shifted to handling his own criminal calendar and the one once shepherded by now-retired U.S. Judge Lawrence O'Neill of the Eastern District of California. Drozd's criminal standing order warned attorneys that he may find himself "juggling several cases with overlapping trial schedules and posing different SpeedyTrial Act considerations."

The Eastern District court, which covers 34 counties stretching from the Oregon border down the eastern side of California to Bakersfield, has not been given a new judgeship since 1978. Since then, the region's population has mushroomed from 2.5 million to approximately 8 million.

A summary review of Paloutzian's work includes a 2008 case, Newsome v. Schwarzenegger, where he represented a Central Valley medical group in a civil rights case involving the death of an Avenal State Prison. The case against the medical group was terminated in 2010. In 2019, he defended a Fresno teachers union accused of improperly increasing members' dues.

Paloutzian is a graduate of the University of California Davis School of Law. He serves on the board of governors for the American Board of Trial Advocates and the board of directors for the Fresno County Bar Association.

Kenneth Price, managing partner at Baker Manock & Jensen, said he has known and worked with Paloutzian for 20 years. He described him as a "terrific nomination" and "wonderful" lawyer.

"He is universally regarded a smart, thoughtful, and reasonable attorney, and someone with the highest ethical standards," Price said. "While we will miss seeing him in the office every day and benefiting from his wise counsel, we know that, upon confirmation, our legal community will be gaining an outstanding federal judge."

California's Democratic U.S. senators have been critical of Trump nominations to other federal courts in the Golden State. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein declined to comment on Paloutzian's nomination. A message left with Sen. Kamala Harris' office was not immediately returned.