- Judge Kenly Kiya Kato has served as a federal Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California since 2014.
- From 2004 to 2014, Kato was a solo practitioner, focusing on federal criminal defense, civil rights, and employment issues.
- From 1997 to 2003, Kato was a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Los Angeles.
- If confirmed, Judge Kato would be the first woman who is a former public defender to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
- Judge Kato received her B.A. from UCLA in 1993 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1996. She clerked for Judge Robert Takasugi of the Central District of California.
