Dale S. Fischer

Dale Susan Fischer (born October 17, 1951) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Early life and education
Fischer was born in Orange, New Jersey. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida in 1977, and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1980.

Private practice
Fischer was in private practice in California for 17 years, from 1980 to 1997, during which she also volunteer briefly for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. She practiced as a business litigator at the law firms Heller Ehrman and Kindel & Anderson.

State judicial service
Fischer was a judge on the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1997 to 2000, hearing criminal cases. She was then a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, hearing criminal cases from 2000 to 2003.

Federal judicial service
On May 1, 2003, Fischer was nominated by President George W. Bush to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California created by 116 Stat. 1758. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 27, 2003, and received her commission on November 5, 2003. She assumed senior status on May 1, 2024.

Notable cases
In 2008, she oversaw the case of private investigator Anthony Pellicano. Fischer sentenced Pellicano to 15 years in prison for running an illegal wiretapping operation, wiretapping billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's former wife. The sentence significantly exceeded the five-year, 10-month term recommended by probation officials.

In 2023 the criminal securities fraud case of Terren Peizer, the CEO and chairman of publicly traded healthcare company Ontrak, was assigned to Fischer. After Peizer was charged with insider trading by the SEC, which alleged that he sold $20 million of Ontrak stock while he was in possession of material nonpublic negative information related to the company’s largest customer, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges of securities fraud against Peizer, charging that thereby he had avoided $12 million in losses. If convicted, Peizer could face up to 65 years in prison.