The Hon. Andrew G. Schopler is a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, San Diego Division. He was appointed to the District Court in 2016. He filled the seat vacated by the retirement of the Hon. Ruben B. Brooks.
Judge Schopler received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1994. He went on to earn his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1997.
After graduating from law school, Schopler served briefly as an attorney in private practice in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
In 1998, he became an assistant public defender with the Public Defender's office in District 15B in North Carolina and then re-entered private practice that same year. While in private practice, Schopler specialized in criminal defense and complex civil litigation. He was also named to the North Carolina Capital Roster for capital murder cases.
After relocating to California, he joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, where he worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney from 2004 until his appointment to the District Court in 2016.
Schopler has also served as a captain and judge advocate in the U.S. Army National Guard since 2014.
His memberships have included serving as co-chair of the Southern District's Lawyer Representative Committee and the Southern District's delegate to the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys. He also served as the secretary and executive committee member of the San Diego chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Schopler served as a judge pro tem for the San Diego County Superior Court and was a guest instructor at the University of San Diego Law School.
He received the 2016 national Director's Award for Superior Performance by an Assistant U.S. Attorney.