LOS ANGELES, California — A federal judge ruled on Tuesday, October 27, that Bill Essayli, the Trump administration's top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles and Southern California, is serving in the job unlawfully, and barred him from participating in or supervising two criminal prosecutions in the Central District of California.
Source: MyNewsLA
Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright concluded that the Justice Department had handed Essayli such broad authority under the titles of special attorney and first assistant U.S. attorney that he was effectively doing the top job anyway. "In sum, Essayli is unlawfully serving as a 'de facto' United States Attorney," the judge wrote, according to the reports.
Source: QNC News
The two cases he is barred from
The order covers the prosecutions of Jaime Hector Ramirez, who is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and Tu Anh Tran, who is charged with possessing property stolen from interstate or foreign shipment. Lawyers for both men had challenged Essayli's authority to oversee their cases.
Seabright declined the defence request to dismiss the indictments altogether. He found the defendants had not shown the substantial prejudice required for that remedy — so both prosecutions continue, but without Essayli taking part in them or overseeing the lawyers handling them.
The order does not bite right away
The disqualification will not take effect immediately. Seabright put it on hold while the government asks for a stay pending appeal. Under the timetable he accepted, prosecutors have five business days to file that request, and if he turns it down, the bar on Essayli would take effect a week later unless a higher court steps in, QNC News reported.
Source: QNC News
Essayli responded that he respectfully disagreed with the order. "We respectfully disagree with the court's order," he said in a statement reported by MyNewsLA. "The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department. Importantly, today's order is automatically stayed so the government can seek a full stay and maintain the status quo pending our appeal." He said the question would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court and that he looked forward to serving in his current role until then.
Source: MyNewsLA
How Essayli got the job — and why the judge said no
Essayli, a former Republican state Assembly member from Riverside, was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in April 2025. He was never formally nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. As the interim post neared its 120-day limit, he resigned and was named a special attorney and first assistant, a move meant to keep him in charge of the office.
Seabright had previously ruled that Essayli was not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney, but had allowed him to exercise authority in those other roles. That changed after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a similar arrangement for Nevada prosecutor Sigal Chattah, finding the Justice Department could not keep an official who had not been confirmed by the Senate in charge of a U.S. attorney's office simply by giving the official a different title and the full powers of the job.
After the Nevada ruling, the department issued a revised delegation that held back three powers reserved for a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney, including in a September 23 order discussed at an October 13 hearing. Seabright was not persuaded. "Withholding the three specific statutory powers mentioned in the revised designation order in reality withholds nothing," he wrote, according to QNC News.
Source: QNC News
The Central District of California is one of the country's largest federal prosecution offices, covering Los Angeles and Southern California — home to a large Punjabi and South Asian diaspora. Who lawfully runs that office affects immigration, firearms and theft prosecutions across the region, and the same appointment fight is playing out in other states.
The same fight in other states
The ruling echoes similar clashes elsewhere, QNC News reported. In New Jersey, Alina Habba stepped aside in December once appellate judges ruled her appointment invalid. In Virginia, a court found Lindsey Halligan had been improperly installed, and charges she brought against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were thrown out as a result. Seabright also noted that the president still had not nominated anyone for the Los Angeles post. Defence attorney H. Dean Steward, who filed the renewed challenge in August, called the ruling "a victory for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution," the Los Angeles Times reported via MyNewsLA.
What happens next
The Justice Department is expected to seek a stay and appeal, and the administration has already asked the Supreme Court to review the Nevada Chattah decision, according to the reports. For now, the status quo holds: Essayli remains in his current role while the stay request is decided, the Ramirez and Tran cases proceed under other supervision if the bar takes effect, and no indictment has been dismissed because of Tuesday's ruling. Bloomberg Law also reported the disqualification on Tuesday, describing Essayli as unlawfully serving as a de facto U.S. attorney.
Source: Bloomberg Law