Dean Pregerson
American judge (born 1951)
title: "Dean Pregerson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1951-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-lawyers", "20th-century-american-judges", "21st-century-american-judges", "judges-of-the-united-states-district-court-for-the-central-district-of-california", "lawyers-from-los-angeles", "public-defenders", "united-states-district-court-judges-appointed-by-bill-clinton", "university-of-california,-los-angeles-alumni", "uc-davis-school-of-law-alumni"] description: "American judge (born 1951)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Pregerson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American judge (born 1951) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Dean Pregerson |
| image | Dean Pregerson at FBI in 2015.jpg |
| office | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California |
| term_start | January 28, 2016 |
| term_end | June 1, 2025 |
| office1 | Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California |
| term_start1 | August 1, 1996 |
| term_end1 | January 28, 2016 |
| appointer1 | Bill Clinton |
| predecessor1 | A. Wallace Tashima |
| successor1 | John W. Holcomb |
| birth_name | Dean Douglas Pregerson |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| spouse | Sharon D. Skomer |
| children | 2 (1 deceased) |
| father | Harry Pregerson |
| relatives | Katie Rodan (sister) |
| education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) |
| UC Davis School of Law (JD) | |
| :: |
| name = Dean Pregerson | honorific-suffix = | image = Dean Pregerson at FBI in 2015.jpg | alt = | caption = | office = Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California | term_start = January 28, 2016 | term_end = June 1, 2025 | office1 = Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California | term_start1 = August 1, 1996 | term_end1 = January 28, 2016 | appointer1 = Bill Clinton | predecessor1 = A. Wallace Tashima | successor1 = John W. Holcomb | pronunciation = | birth_name = Dean Douglas Pregerson | birth_date = | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | otherparty = | height = | spouse = Sharon D. Skomer | partner = | relations = | children = 2 (1 deceased) | parents = | mother = | father = Harry Pregerson | relatives = Katie Rodan (sister) | residence = | education = University of California, Los Angeles (BA) UC Davis School of Law (JD) | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | religion = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | footnotes = Dean Douglas Pregerson (born January 28, 1951) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Education and career
Pregerson was born to a Jewish American family in Los Angeles. His father, Harry Pregerson, was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has a sister Katie Rodan. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the UC Davis School of Law in 1976. Pregerson began his career as a Parole Hearing Officer with the California Department of Corrections in 1977. In 1978, Pregerson became an Assistant Public Defender in Agana, Guam. Although some public defender services were available in Guam beginning in 1968, Pregerson joined the first class of public defenders in the modern Guam Public Defender Service Corporation. He served in that role for three years before entering private practice in Ventura, California in 1978. Pregerson remained in private practice, specializing in civil litigation, from 1981 until his appointment to the federal judiciary in 1996. During that time, Pregerson served in numerous roles, including as the Vice-President and General Counsel of the Torrance Company. At the time of his appointment, Pregerson was a partner in the firm of Pregerson, Richman & Luna.
Federal judicial service
On January 26, 1996, Pregerson was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California vacated by A. Wallace Tashima. Pregerson was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 24, 1996, and received his commission on August 1, 1996. He assumed senior status on January 28, 2016. He retired from judicial service on June 1, 2025.
Notable cases
Pregerson has been involved in many cases related to the entertainment industry, the use of concealed stun belts on prisoners in court, as well as the planned completion of the I-710 Freeway.{{cite news | title = FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DEAN PREGERSON | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | url = http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/dean-pregerson | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100929213623/http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/dean-pregerson | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 29, 2010 | access-date = July 30, 2014}}
Personal life
In December 2013, Pregerson's son, David, age 23, was killed by a hit and run driver while walking home in the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles.{{cite news | last = Winton | first = Richard | title = Son of federal judge killed in Pacific Palisades hit-and-run | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = January 2, 2014 | url = http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-david-pregerson-20140102-story.html | access-date = July 30, 2014}}{{cite news | last = Stevens | first = Matt | title = Man held in fatal hit-and-run of federal judge's son, police say | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = May 1, 2014 | url = http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pacific-palisades-pregerson-arrest-20140501-story.html | access-date = July 30, 2014}}
References
References
- [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pur1.32754067520795&view=1up&seq=637 Confirmation hearings on federal appointments : hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, on confirmation of appointees to the federal judiciary. pt. 3 (1996)]
- "Pregerson, Dean D. - Federal Judicial Center".
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