Overview
U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California (Oakland), appointed by President Obama in 2011. Presided over Epic Games v. Apple (2021) — the landmark App Store antitrust ruling. Now presiding over Musk v. Altman — Elon Musk’s $134B suit against OpenAI, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Microsoft, with trial beginning April 28, 2026.
Key Facts
- Obama appointee, confirmed 2011
- Presided over Epic Games v. Apple — the foundational App Store antitrust case in U.S. courts; Apple lost on the anti-steering rule
- Presiding over Musk v. Altman — bifurcated trial with jury verdict advisory only (judge decides liability and remedies); 9 jurors, no alternates; 20 hours each for Musk and OpenAI; 5 hours for Microsoft — per Musk v Altman Trial Preview — CNBC
- Liability phase expected to run through mid-May 2026; M-Th, 8:30 AM – 1:40 PM PT
- Remedies phase scheduled to begin May 18, 2026 if liability is found
- Has explicitly noted that a statute-of-limitations finding by the jury could direct verdict to defendants
Newsletter Relevance
Gonzalez Rogers is the rare federal judge with hands-on experience adjudicating big-platform structural-control questions (Epic v. Apple). The advisory-jury structure of Musk v. Altman places the actual liability and remedy decisions in her hands — meaning the case’s outcome depends on her track record more than on jury composition. Her judgment will shape whether the AI Antitrust cluster gets governance-level remedies (Altman/Brockman removal, for-profit unwinding) or stays in pure-damages territory.
Connections
- Elon Musk — plaintiff in current case
- Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, OpenAI, Microsoft — defendants in current case
- Epic Games v Apple - Wikipedia — prior landmark case
Source Appearances
Open Questions
- Liability ruling and any structural remedies in Musk v. Altman
- Whether her Epic v. Apple jurisprudence translates cleanly to AI / nonprofit-conversion governance questions