Edward J. Davila

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Edward J. Davila
	Court: Northern District of California
Progress
	Confirmed 270 days after nomination.
	Nominated: May 20, 2010
	ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified
	Questionnaire:
	Hearing: September 29, 2010
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: February 3, 2011 (December 1, 2010)
	Confirmed: February 14, 2011
	Vote: Voice

Edward J. Davila is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He joined the court in 2011 after being nominated by President Barack Obama.

He assumed senior status on December 20, 2024. Noël Wise was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) to replace Davila on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on June 13, 2024.^[1]

Education

Davila earned his B.A. from California State University at San Diego in 1976, and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1979.^[1]^[2]

Professional career

2011-2024: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- 2024-present: Senior judge
2001-2011: Judge, Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California
1988-2001: Attorney, Davila & Polverino
1981-1988: Deputy public defender, Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office

In addition to his legal work, Davila taught trial advocacy course sessions at Stanford Law School, Santa Clara University School of Law and the University of San Francisco School of Law.^[1]^[2]

Judicial career

Northern District of California

On May 20, 2010, Davila was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was nominated to fill the seat vacated by Marilyn Patel.^[3] Davila was recommended to the president by Senator Barbara Boxer.

The American Bar Association gave Davila a rating of "Qualified" from the substantial majority, and "Not Qualified" from the minority. Davila had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 29, 2010, and you can find his hearing transcript here.^[4] He was moved out of committee on a voice vote on December 1, 2010, and awaited confirmation by the full Senate.^[5]

Davila's nomination was returned to the President at the end of the 111th Congress. President Obama resubmitted the nomination on January 5, 2011. Davila was then confirmed by a voice vote of the Senate on February 14, 2011.^[6]

Noteworthy cases

Judge approves $3.75 million settlement for eBay employees (2014)

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and Intuit founder Scott Cook allegedly agreed that their companies would not hire employees from the other. This agreement took place in 2006. After that time, both companies began declining to interview applicants from the other company, even if they were the most qualified. The state of California sued eBay over this agreement because Intuit and other companies involved settled out of court. On September 2, 2014, Judge Edward J. Davila approved a settlement of $3.75 million, of which $2.3 million is to go directly to eBay and Intuit employees and applicants who were affected by Whitman and Cook’s agreement. eBay is also forbidden from entering into non-compete agreements with other companies—or enforcing ones in existence—for five years.

Articles:

Judge rules that police did not use excessive force in killing (2013)

In October 2013, Judge Davila ruled that the San Jose Police Department did not use excessive force in the shooting of Daniel Pham in May 2009. He further ruled that San Jose would not be liable financially, writing:

“

The death of a civilian at the hands of law enforcement is tragic and regrettable, but the law…indicates that the actions at issue here do not implicate the Fourth Amendment or trigger liability under California law.^[7]

”

Articles:

Anna Ayala case (2006)

In 2006, Davila imposed the maximum sentence of nine years on Anna Ayala, who placed a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili in an attempt to extort money from the company.^[8]