Hawaii Judge Transferred to California Court for Habeas Backlog

A Hawaii federal judge was temporarily assigned to a Los Angeles-based district court to assist with the jurisdiction’s growing number of habeas corpus alien detainee cases, the Ninth Circuit’s chief judge said in an order Thursday.

Judge Derrick Watson was designated to temporarily preside over habeas cases at the US District Court for the Central District of California, by the Ninth Circuit’s Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia. The US District Court for the District of Hawaii judge will serve his temporary role from March 26 through Dec. 31, and any additional time needed to complete “unfinished business,” according to the ...