The Blumenfeld family, including Brian, Andrew, Judge Stanley and Susan, and Carolyn and Robert Small, traveled to Washington last November to witness a Senate hearing after the judge was nominated for his federal post.
La Cañada Flintridge resident Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. was sworn in on Tuesday as a judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, where he was once an assistant U.S. attorney.
The ceremony at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles followed the Senate confirmation last week of Blumenfeld, who was a veteran L.A. County Superior Court judge, on a 92-4 majority vote. He will preside over matters in Los Angeles in the court’s Western Division.
“I’m very proud of him!” said son Andrew Blumenfeld. “I think it’s enormously well deserved, of course; I think the world of him and it’s wonderful to see all his hard work and talent recognized and will really be to the benefit of all those who come before him.”
Local resident Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. (right) was sworn in on Tuesday as a federal judge serving the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge George Wu presided.
The newly minted federal judge was first nominated in October 2018 by President Donald Trump, but turbulent times — including impeachment efforts and the COVID-19 pandemic — slowed official hearings, noted Andrew Blumenfeld, who currently serves on the La Cañada Unified School District Governing Board.
“It’s been a very long process,” he said. “Ultimately, though, it’s great to know he will leverage his skills, hard work and dedication for all the people seeking justice before him. It’s very exciting.”
Blumenfeld fills the vacancy that arose when Judge Audrey B. Collins retired in August 2014. The Central District of California comprises the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. It serves more than 19.6 million people, nearly half the population of California.
The longtime LCF resident and his wife, Susan, have three children: Andrew, Brian and Carolyn Small, who also resides locally.
According to a statement from the court’s Central District, Blumenfeld has served as a Superior Court judge in L.A. County since his appointment by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, and has presided over criminal, civil and other state law matters, including more than 200 trials. Additionally, he sat by designation on the California Court of Appeal for the Second District, Division 7. In the Superior Court, he served as supervising site judge of the Alhambra Courthouse and, since 2016, as an assistant supervising judge of the Pasadena, Alhambra, Glendale and Burbank courthouses.
In addition to his duties on the bench, Blumenfeld has been an adjunct professor at USC Gould School of Law since 2009 and at Southwestern Law School from 2011-14. He has taught courses in criminal law and procedure, remedies and trial advocacy. He has also been active in various bar and judge associations and court committees.
Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court, Blumenfeld worked at O’Melveny & Myers, where he became a partner in 1998. While at O’Melveny, he worked as trial and appellate counsel, primarily in commercial, white-collar, environmental and health-care litigation. He also served as co-chair of the health-care practice and environmental law groups. He also worked on several pro bono matters during his time at O’Melveny, including serving as co-general counsel for the California Governor’s Advisory Panel on Hate Groups.
Blumenfeld received his bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University, a master’s from New York University and his law degree from UCLA School of Law.
