The Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, JD

The Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. serves as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California.  Judge Gilliam was appointed by President Obama on September 8, 2014 and received his commission on December 19, 2014.  Judge Gilliam graduated magna cum laude from Yale College in 1991 and received his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1994.  After law school, Judge Gilliam clerked for the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, then the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Judge Gilliam and the Honorable Kandis Westmore preside over the Oakland venue of the Northern District’s Alternatives to Incarceration Program (ATIP) court.  ATIP provides qualifying defendants with a framework of supervision and services, with the goal of helping them learn from their mistakes, make better choices, engage in productive behavior, overcome substance abuse challenges, and reduce the risk of reoffending.  Participants who successfully complete the ATIP program generally receive a noncustodial sentence.

Judge Gilliam is the President of the board of directors of the Northern District Practice Program, which sponsors continuing legal education programs focused on informing attorneys of new and important developments in the law and providing practical guidance and skill-building opportunities.  He chairs the Northern District’s Community Outreach Committee, which focuses on building relationships with Bay Area communities and sharing information about the court’s work and the role of the federal judiciary, and he serves on the Ninth Circuit’s Public Information and Community Outreach Committee.  Judge Gilliam also serves on the Northern District’s Criminal Rules and Practice Committee. 

Judge Gilliam was in private law practice from 1995 to 1998 and worked at the U.S. Attorney’s San Francisco Office from 1999 to 2006, ultimately serving as Chief of the Securities Fraud Section, before returning to private practice.  Before his appointment, Judge Gilliam’s law practice focused on white collar criminal and regulatory matters and internal investigations.