Appointed By: Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
The Hon. Jeremy D. Peterson is a United States magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California[1]. Peterson was appointed to the bench by the judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on April 27, 2018[2].
Peterson first sat in Yosemite Valley and later relocated to Sacramento in October 2020[4]. Since that move, his assignments have included civil and criminal matters[1]. His docket has included Social Security disability appeals, prisoner civil rights cases under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and habeas corpus matters under 28 U.S.C. § 2254[1]. Peterson has also directed a Behavior Change Court in Sacramento, an alternative-to-detention program focused on treatment and rehabilitation[4]. He has conducted settlement conferences in matters assigned to him and to other judges in the district[1].
Peterson earned a B.A. in biological anthropology, with honors, from Swarthmore College in 1999[3]. At Harvard Law School, he completed a J.D., cum laude, in 2006[3]. While a law student, he served as managing editor of the Harvard International Law Journal[3].
After graduating from law school, Peterson served as a judicial law clerk to Ruggero J. Aldisert of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2006 to 2007[3]. In 2007, he joined the Sex Offense & Domestic Violence Section of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted domestic-violence offenses until 2008[3]. In 2008, Peterson became a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, appearing in federal trial and appellate courts nationwide from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2011 to 2012[3]. Between those assignments, he served on the Deepwater Horizon Task Force in New Orleans from 2010 to 2011, working on the federal investigation of the explosion and oil spill that resulted in corporate guilty pleas and billions of dollars in criminal penalties[3]. During his Department of Justice tenure, Peterson co-authored the department's Blue Book on criminal discovery and a manual for prosecuting bankrupt entities[3].
In 2012, Peterson transitioned to private practice at Arnold & Porter LLP (2012 to 2018) in Washington, D.C.[3]. There, he represented manufacturers, automobile companies, a railroad, and private individuals in civil and criminal matters involving technical and scientific evidence[3]. His work also included negotiating resolutions with private companies and government regulators[3].
Alongside his litigation work, Peterson has taught Federal Court Mediation at the University of California, Davis, School of Law[1]. He has also participated in the Prisoner Civil Rights Mediation Clinic at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law[1]. Among Peterson's memberships were the American Bar Association and Law Seminars International. While in private practice, he served as co-chair of a conference on trial strategy and as vice chair of an American Bar Association committee that reviewed federal and state enforcement actions[4]. Peterson has also been active in the Kennedy Inn of Court[4].
Peterson spent childhood summers on Isle Royale, a national park in Lake Superior, where his father, a biologist, studied interactions between wolves and moose[4]. He and his brother lived in a cabin without electricity or running water during those summers[4].
Outside the courtroom, Peterson's activities have included hiking, cycling, and rock climbing[4]. He and his wife have raised three children[4].
[1] Eastern District of California — United States Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson
[2] Eastern District of California — Public Notice Reappointment JDP
[3] U.S. Courts — Judicial Milestones: Jeremy D. Peterson
[4] Daily Journal — Profile of Jeremy D. Peterson
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