Magistrate Judge Michael B. Kaufman presides over matters in the Central District of
California’s Western Division.
Before his appointment as a magistrate judge, Judge Kaufman served as a Deputy Federal
Public Defender for the Central District of California where he represented indigent
criminal defendants on appeal and assisted with complex motion practice and trials. From
2010 to 2024, Judge Kaufman served as a Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Southern
California. In 2018, Judge Kaufman was named the Sullivan & Cromwell Access to Justice
Staff Attorney. At the ACLU of Southern California, Judge Kaufman’s practice primarily
consisted of complex civil rights litigation, including class actions, with an emphasis on
issues related to the immigration and criminal legal systems. His specializations included
constitutional law, administrative law, and open government laws.
From 2008 to 2010, Judge Kaufman served as a Skadden Fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee
for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. In that role, he focused on wage-and-hour
employment litigation and human trafficking cases. Over the course of his career, Judge
Kaufman has dedicated significant time to mentoring those just beginning their legal
careers.
Judge Kaufman received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in 2003 and
his Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School in 2007. Following law school, Judge
Kaufman clerked for the Honorable Sidney R. Thomas of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit.
