On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the District Judges of the U S District Court of the Southern District of California selected Benjamin Jerome Cheeks as its newest United States Magistrate Judge! He is the first African American Magistrate Judge to serve in the aforementioned district since the appointment and retirement of Magistrate Judge William (Bill) McCurine (2004 – 2014). The Honorable Judge Cheeks was officially sworn in (at an informal ceremony) on Friday, July 19, 2024, by the Honorable Dana M. Sabraw, Chief Judge of the United States District Court. In addition to the informal swearing in ceremony, a formal swearing in ceremony is scheduled to be held in November 2024.
A native of Georgia, Judge Cheeks is the son of Rosetta Cheeks and the late Jerome Leon Cheeks. His family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when he was in elementary school. Upon relocating, the family joined the Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. Moses E. Monroe, Sr.
Judge Cheeks’ undergraduate work was completed at the University of Miami. He received his Juris Doctorate Degree from American University, Washington College of Law in 2003.
Attorney Cheeks was an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, from September 2003 to October 2010 where he was a Line Prosecutor and later a member of the office’s Appellate Division. From October 2010 to November 2013, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in San Diego. Attorney Cheeks opened his private practice in San Diego in November 2013 as a Criminal Defense and Civil Practitioner.
His other professional affiliations include the following:
Appointed by the District Court to serve as a Lawyer Representative for the Southern District in 2020
*Served as a member of the District Court’s Standing Committee on Discipline for the Southern District since 2022
*Served as a member of the Lawyer Representative Selection Committee since 2023
*Served as a member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Criminal Defense Panel since December 2013
*Served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the CJA Criminal Defense Panel since 2022
*Was appointed as a member of the Merit Selection Committee for the Selection of Magistrate Judges, consisting of attorneys, judges and community leaders charged with screening, interviewing, and recommending a short list of Magistrate Judge applicants for the District Court’s consideration (2021 -2023)
* Was an Adjunct Profes-sor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law (August 2012-January 2013) and at California Western School of Law (August 2013 to May 2022
*Board Member of the Federal Bar Association (2020 – 2023
*Co-Chair of its DEI Committee (2022)
*Member of the Criminal Defense Lawyers Club since 2021
*Member of the San Diego County Bar Association (2013-2014)
*Member and Criminal Law Column Editor of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.
He has published over 20 articles and Op-Eds on a number of subjects in various legal publications. He is married to Dr. Brenda Perez-Cheeks, and they have two sons, Benjamin and Brandon.
