On September 17, 2018, Judge Jeremy Fogel became the first Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, a center at Berkeley Law School whose mission is to build bridges between judges and academics and to promote an ethical, resilient and independent judiciary. Prior to his appointment at Berkeley, he served as Director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC (2011-2018), as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California (1998-2011), and as a judge of the Santa Clara County Superior (1986-1998) and Municipal (1981-1986) Courts. He was the founding Directing Attorney of the Mental Health Advocacy Project from 1978 to 1981.
Judge Fogel has served as a faculty member for the Federal Judicial Center since 2002 and was a lecturer at Stanford Law School from 2003 until his relocation to Washington. He taught for the California Continuing Judicial Studies Program and California Judicial College from 1987 to 2010 and has served as a faculty member for legal exchanges approximately twenty foreign countries. He received his B.A. from Stanford University in 1971 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1974.
Judge Fogel has received numerous accolades, including the President’s Award for Outstanding Service to the California Judiciary from the California Judges Association, the Vanguard Award for notable contributions to intellectual property law from the State Bar of California, and, most recently, the Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award from the American College of Trial Lawyers, which is given from time to time to recognize “a lawyer who epitomizes ethical conduct, integrity, collegiality, and professionalism.”
Among his major areas of interest are judicial ethics, judicial administration, judicial decision making (including effective ways to teach judges about unconscious bias and the impact of emotion), and judicial wellness.
Professor Fogel’s Spring 2024 Class: Colloquium: Courts & Judicial Process
Jeremy D Fogel is not teaching any Law courses in Fall 2025.
Fed. Judges’ Public Spat With Justices May Undermine Courts
“Most district judges really try hard to get these cases right, and they spend a lot of time doing that,” Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, told Law360 Pulse. “So to go through that whole process, and to have an evidentiary hearing and to issue a preliminary injunction and to do the legal analysis with the precedent that you have, and then have an emergency docket order that says nothing other than the district court order is set aside or stayed,” Judge Fogel said, “that is just not a good look.”
Trump officials and judge face off over flights to El Salvador in rare, high-stakes contempt probe
“The judge has to believe that some line may have been crossed that you can’t ignore,” said Judge Jeremy Fogel, executive director, Berkeley Judicial Institute. Fogel said the issues raised by Boasberg’s contempt probe — whether the migrants were deprived of their due process rights and whether the court’s authority was flouted — meet that standard.
As judges face more threats, only the Supreme Court gets new security funds
“There are people in the judiciary who are afraid that judicial security for the lower courts and politics are getting played off each other, and no one wants to be in that position,” said Jeremy Fogel, a retired judge who served in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. “In the short term, I think that many in the judiciary will believe that their need for increased security because of threats against judges is being neglected,” Fogel said. “In the longer term, I think that problems with understaffing and aging infrastructure will increase the chances of a tragic incident.”
How Paul Newby Made North Carolina a Blueprint for Conservative Courts
“Disclosing can mitigate the appearance of impropriety,” said Jeremy Fogel, the executive director of the University of California, Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former federal judge. “I think people ought to disclose. That’s what I would have done.”
How are the Courts Doing?
Jeremy Fogel, executive director, Berkeley Judicial Institute joins Lawfare Daily to talk about how the courts are faring amidst the enormous stresses of the day: a huge number of legal challenges to Trump administration actions, a judiciary under constant attack from critics—including several instances of real violence—and serious intra-branch tensions. And to discuss why it is so crucial that judges retain their independence—and how to make sure they do.
Legal opinions usually aren’t exciting. This one has everyone talking
“Judges are free to use their opinions to comment on the law and larger issues, as long as the focus of the opinion is right,” said Fogel, who now directs the Berkeley Judicial Institute at UC Berkeley Law. “Legal opinions are not usually that exciting. He was trying to say, this is really important.”
Judges’ Mental Well-Being Gets New Attention as Threats Rise
For Jeremy Fogel, a former federal trial judge in California and executive director, Berkeley Judicial Institute, increasing the focus on judicial well-being is a project decades in the making.
Retired judges condemn attacks on the judiciary — and say California officials are also to blame
Judge Jeremy Fogel, executive director, Berkeley Judicial Institute weighs in on attacks on the judiciary.
A New Front in Trump’s Clash With the Judiciary: Appointing Prosecutors
“They want somebody that they can trust who wouldn’t use the position as a political bullhorn or for carrying out the administration’s broader political agenda,” said Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge and the executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute when discussing judicial district practices and culture for voting on whether to ratify an interim U.S. attorney.
As Trump lashes out against courts, calls grow for judges to control their security force
Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute discusses the growing call for judges to control their security force.
Trump administration’s arrest of judge stirs debate over immigration courthouse arrests
“All of this adds to a sense of the judiciary being under attack,” said Jeremy Fogel, a former judge in California who now runs the Berkeley Judicial Institute. “Whether or not it’s going to be successful, it’s seen as part of a broader attempt to weaken or delegitimize the judiciary.”
Trump v. the Judiciary
Is the arrest of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan the start of Trump’s open war on judges? Berkeley Judicial Institute’s Judge Jeremy Fogel joined host Mary Harris on Slate’s “What Next” podcast to discuss.
Judges Worry Trump Could Tell U.S. Marshals to Stop Protecting Them
“Cutting all the security from one judge or one courthouse — stuff like that hasn’t happened, and I don’t expect it to,” said Jeremy Fogel, a retired federal judge who directs the Berkeley Judicial Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. “But, you never know. Because it’s fair to say that limits are being tested everywhere. Judges worry that it could happen.”
Trump administration is granted leeway in case of mistakenly deported man
“If they are trying to work out a diplomatic solution, and if the plaintiffs are satisfied that they’re actually trying to do that, it’s really kind of in their interest to let that play out,” said Judge Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute. “One way or the other, there’s some mutual expectation that the facts on the ground are going to change” in the coming week.
Growing Chorus of Law School Faculty, Leadership Speaking Out Against Threats to Rule of Law
“I think [the legal community is] worried that there’s going to be a loss of independence,” said retired Judge Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute. “There are a lot of fears.”
4 things to know about Judge Boasberg as he battles Trump over deportation flights
Jeremy Fogel, a retired federal judge, said no judge in the nation’s history has been removed “because of dissatisfaction with his or her rulings.” But threats of impeachment “contribute to a toxic environment that increases the difficulty of an already difficult job,” said Fogel, who now leads the Berkeley Judicial Institute.
Biden says he’d veto bipartisan measure to bolster federal judiciary
Professor Amanda Tyler and Jeremy Fogel, director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute at UC Berkeley Law School weigh in on proposed legislation to expand the federal judiciary.
Inside the Supreme Court Ethics Debate: Who Judges the Justices?
Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former California federal judge weighs in on the Supreme Court ethics debate.
US Judges Make Unusual Hill Push for Bill on Overwhelmed Courts
Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former California federal judge weighs in on a push for legislation expanding the judiciary,
Sweeping bill to overhaul Supreme Court would add six justices
Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former federal judge and a judicial ethics expert, said expanding the court to 15 justices might improve the administration of the high court and cool the rancorous politics around nominating justices.