Vince Chhabria is a federal district judge in the Northern District of California based in San Francisco. He was nominated by Barack Obama on July 25, 2013 and confirmed by the Senate on March 5, 2014.

Before taking the bench, 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.

Chhabria also defended the city in: a First Amendment challenge to an ordinance requiring cell phone retailers to warn customers about possible health risks from radiofrequency 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, where 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.

Prior to attending law school, he spent three years working as a legislative assistant to Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey in Washington, D.C.