Nora M. Manella

Nora M. Manella is a presiding justice for Division Four. She has held this position since May 22, 2006, and will continue until January 31, 2023. She was born in Los Angeles, California.

Manella received her education from the University of Southern California, where she earned her Juris Doctor in 1975. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College, which she received in 1972. She was admitted to the State Bar in January 1976.

Manella has extensive judicial experience. She served as the Presiding Justice for the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 4 from August 23, 2018, to January 31, 2023. She was appointed to this position by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Prior to this, she was an Associate Justice for the same court from May 22, 2006, to August 23, 2018, appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Manella also served as a United States District Judge for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 1998 to 2006, appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton. She was a Judge for the Superior Court, County of Los Angeles from 1992 to 1994, appointed by Governor Pete Wilson, and a Judge for the Municipal Court, County of Los Angeles from 1990 to 1992, appointed by Governor George Deukmejian.

In her professional background, Manella was the United States Attorney of the Central District of California from 1994 to 1998, appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton. She was also an Assistant United States Attorney of the Central District of California from 1982 to 1990. She worked as an Associate at O'Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles from 1978 to 1982. She served as Legal Counsel to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, United States Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., from 1976 to 1978. She was a Law Clerk for the Honorable John Minor Wisdom, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, from 1975 to 1976.

Manella has received several awards and recognitions throughout her career. In 2014, she received the Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section. In 2000, she was named Federal Judge of the Year by the Century City Bar Association, Criminal Section, and also received the Wellesley College Alumna Achievement Award. In 1995, she received the Ernestine Stahlhut Award from the Women Lawyers of Los Angeles. She has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in the United States by the National Law Journal and one of the 100 Most Powerful Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal.