Vince Chhabria

Vince Chhabria is a federal district judge in the Northern District of California, based in San Francisco. He was nominated by Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed by the Senate in 2014.

Before taking the bench, Judge Chhabria was Chief of Appellate Litigation for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, as well as a deputy on the Government Litigation Team for that office. He successfully defended a challenge to San Francisco’s universal health care program, and was part of the legal team that successfully challenged California’s ban on same-sex marriage. He also defended the City in: a First Amendment challenge to an ordinance requiring cell phone retailers to warn customers about possible health risks from rf energy exposure from cell phones; an Establishment Clause challenge to a resolution passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors criticizing Vatican statements and policies regarding adoption by same-sex couples; separate First Amendment and Equal Protection challenges to an ordinance banning tobacco sales in drug stores; a state law preemption challenge to an ordinance requiring landlords to pay relocation assistance to evicted tenants; and a Due Process challenge to the City’s red light camera program.

Chhabria was also a member of the City Attorney’s Affirmative Litigation Task Force. In that capacity he served as lead counsel in several matters involving the failure of businesses to pay employees the minimum wages and benefits required by San Francisco law.

Prior to joining the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, Chhabria worked in the San Francisco office of Covington & Burling, where he focused primarily on criminal defense litigation.

Chhabria served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer during the 2001-2002 term. Before that, he clerked for James R. Browning on the Ninth Circuit and Charles Breyer on the Northern District of California.

Chhabria attended law school at Berkeley from 1995-1998. Before that, he spent three years working as a Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey in Washington, D.C. He received his undergraduate degree in Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1991.

On the bench, Judge Chhabria’s cases have included a challenge to the Trump Administration’s decision to cut Affordable Care Act subsidies, a challenge to the federal government’s detention of unaccompanied minors accused of gang affiliation, a challenge to the conditions of confinement at ICE detention facilities during the COVID pandemic, a case about whether Lyft Drivers are employees or independent contractors, an MDL involving allegations that Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer, and an MDL arising from Cambridge Analytica’s acquisition of Facebook user data.