Judge Seabright Rules Essayli Is Unlawfully Serving as Los Angeles's Top Federal Prosecutor and Bars Him From Two Cases; Disqualification Delayed Pending a Stay Request

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday (the ruling date) that Bill Essayli is unlawfully serving as Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor and ordered him disqualified from overseeing two criminal cases, the Los Angeles Times reported. Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote: “In sum, Essayli is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” and the Times reports that he delayed the disqualifications from taking effect while he considers an anticipated government request for a stay pending appeal. Essayli told the Times the case “will be decided by the Supreme Court” and “I look forward to serving in my current role until then.”

Seabright rejected the Justice Department’s revised delegation of authority: “Withholding the three specific statutory powers mentioned in the revised designation order in reality withholds nothing.” The ruling follows a Ninth Circuit decision rejecting a similar arrangement for Nevada prosecutor Sigal Chattah. Seabright had ruled the year before that Essayli was “not lawfully serving” as acting U.S. attorney, but let him keep exercising authority as a special attorney and first assistant.

Essayli is the face of the Justice Department’s California noncitizen-voter push (2026-10-16–essayli-x-post-20k-noncitizens-confirmed-by-a-review-of-federal-databases-reply-to-reichlin-melnick, 2026-10-19–doj-seeks-tro-us-v-california-sworn-dhs-declarations-describe-how-20000-voter-list-was-built), where, per AP, California has pushed back on federal efforts to prevent election officials from counting ballots of up to 20,000 people. The Times reports that the order applies to two prosecutions. Earlier rulings on acting U.S. attorneys are in 2026-01-08–fifth-federal-judge-rules-trump-us-attorney-unlawful. Open: the government’s stay motion, and any Ninth Circuit or Supreme Court action on the Chattah question.