James V. Selna
How Judge Selna rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Selna
James V. Selna is a judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Selna received a commission on March 27, 2003. Judge Selna assumed senior status on March 3, 2020.
Judge Selna's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Selna, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Judge's Procedures and Schedules ↗
- Criminal Trial Order Revised, 8-17-17 ↗
- Exemplar Initial Jury Instructions ↗
- Initial Order Revised 6-2-21 ↗
- Proceedures for Presenting Criminal Documents Electronically forUnder Seal Filing ↗
- OrderSettingSchedConfRVSD ↗
- Attchmnt to Sched Conf Ord Revised, 1-6-10 ↗
- Court Trial Order Revised, 1-6-10 ↗
- Jury Trial Order Revised, 12-5-13 ↗
- ERISA Add to Sched Conf Ord ↗
- Rico Order ↗
- Resume ↗
Key rules
Filing
Do not send chambers copies of redacted documents.
“It is not necessary to send chambers copies of redacted documents.”
Motions
Civil motions are heard on: Mondays, Time: 1:30 p.m.
“Civil motions are heard on: Mondays, Time: 1:30 p.m.”
Conferences
Any request for a remote appearance must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the court proceeding.
“Any request for a remote appearance must be filed no later than five (5) court days before the court proceeding.”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026).
- General Order 11-10: Alternative Dispute Resolution Program ↗
- General Order 19-01: Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project ↗
- General Order 20-13: Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project ↗
- General Order 18-02: Submission of Certain Prisoner Filings Through Electronic Mail ↗
- General Order 24-07: Criminal Justice Act Plan ↗
How Judge Selna decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Monex Deposit v. Gilliam, Selna granted the plaintiff’s summary-judgment motion against one defendant and denied it against another.
“The Court GRANTS Monex's motion for summary judgment with respect to Jason Gilliam. The Court DENIES Monex's motion for summary judgment with respect to Richard Gilliam.”
Procedural preferences
In TYR Sport v. Warnaco Swimwear, Selna granted the dismissal motions in part and denied them in part, while denying a separate anti-SLAPP motion.
“The Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART the motions to dismiss, and DENIES the Anti-SLAPP motion.”
In Maestas v. Toyota Motor Corporation, Selna remanded a transferred products action because the removing defendant missed the statutory thirty-day window and did not oppose the renewed motion.
“removal was untimely under 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(3).”
Cautions
In Alcox v. Hartley, Selna adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation and dismissed a Section 2254 petition as untimely.
“Pursuant to the Order of the Court adopting the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of United States Magistrate Judge Rosalyn M. Chapman, IT IS ADJUDGED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus and the action are dismissed as untimely.”
In one consumer remand dispute, excluded speculative future attorney fees when considering the jurisdictional amount.
“Therefore, the Court will not include speculative awards in calculating the amount in controversy.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Pursuant to the Order of the Court adopting the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of United States Magistrate Judge Rosalyn M. Chapman, IT IS ADJUDGED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus and the action are dismissed as untimely.”
“The Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART the motions to dismiss, and DENIES the Anti-SLAPP motion.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Jason Gilliam's and Richard Gilliam's motions for summary judgment.”
“The Court GRANTS Monex's motion for summary judgment with respect to Jason Gilliam. The Court DENIES Monex's motion for summary judgment with respect to Richard Gilliam.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the motions for summary judgment are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Speedo is entitled to summary judgment with respect to TYR's Fourth and Sixth Claims, and USA Swimming and Schubert are entitled to summary judgment on TYR's Sixth Claim.”
“ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS AND MOTION TO STRIKE JAMES V. SELNA, District Judge.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants Ossur's motion for a preliminary injunction.”
“the Court GRANTS summary judgment to Nike on the intentional interference claim and GRANTS Nike’s motion for judgment on the pleadings on the unfair competition and declaratory relief claims.”
“The Court DENIES Oakley’s motion for summary judgment on the intentional interference claim.”
“the Court grants Blizzard’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, and denies Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.”
“The Court denies the Motion to Compel Arbitration.”
“Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and Northland’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“Six of the seven Eitel factors favor Zinus. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS its Motion for Default Judgment.”
“Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Zinus’s Motion for a Permanent Injunction.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES the motion to remand.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- His current intake (April-May 2026) skews toward immigration mandamus/naturalization, consumer/insurance/contract, trademark, general habeas, and civil-rights/ADA matters, and, as a senior judge, NOT the district's 2026 immigration-detainee habeas surge that dominates active-judge dockets (a distinction he shares with other senior judges here).
- Older terminated dockets (2021 filings) span a federal criminal calendar, copyright, insurance, contract, and civil rights.
- Durations below are filed-to-terminated for terminated cases in the sample.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 2 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 2 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 69 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 69 |
| Sep 2025 | 7 | 25 |
| Mar 2025 | 6 | 25 |
| Sep 2024 | 8 | 27 |
| Mar 2024 | 2 | 29 |
| Sep 2023 | 5 | 25 |
| Mar 2023 | 4 | 26 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 14 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 17 |
| Sep 2021 | 3 | 24 |
| Mar 2021 | 3 | 10 |
| Sep 2020 | 3 | 16 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Central District of California, not for Judge Selna: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 15,190 | 3.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 4,414 | 3.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 10,538 | 4.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 103 | 17.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 135 | 25.7 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 15,190 | 3.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 15,348 | 3.9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 13,583 | 4.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 12,887 | 4.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 14,213 | 4.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 14,205 | 5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 13,478 | 4.9 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
Draft for Judge Selna with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Selna, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Selna's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace