Benchlight The federal appellate judiciary

Appointment

Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Title
Judge
Appointed by
William J. ClintonDemocratic
Seat
CA90506
Nominated
Feb. 22, 2000
Committee hearing
June 15, 2000
Committee action
Reported (favorably)July 20, 2000
Senate vote
Voice
Confirmed
July 21, 2000
Commissioned
July 26, 2000
ABA rating
Qualified

Source Federal Judicial Center.

Judicial service history

Every federal judicial office held, in order of appointment.

CourtTitleCommissionedEndedAppointed by
U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada Judge April 7, 1998 July 26, 2000 Appointment to Another Judicial Position William J. Clinton
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge July 26, 2000 In service William J. Clinton

Recent judicial activity

Opinions authored and panels sat on, most recent first.

Cases

Appellate cases on which this judge sat, drawn from panel information published with each decision.

CaseNo.StatusDate
Americans for Prosperity v. Meyer 24-2933 Decided Sept. 30, 2026
Baker Ranches, Inc. v. Burgum 24-5713 Decided Sept. 30, 2026 Authored
San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States Forest Service 25-5189 Decided Sept. 29, 2026 Authored
United States of America v. Burton 25-87 Decided Sept. 28, 2026
Linhart v. New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation 25-490 Decided Sept. 22, 2026
Lewis-Williams v. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 25-740 Decided Sept. 11, 2026
Zunum Aero, Inc. v. the Boeing Company 24-5751 Decided Aug. 26, 2026
United States v. Aguilera 25-3366 Decided Aug. 24, 2026 Authored
United States v. Cisneros 24-6774 Decided Aug. 21, 2026 Authored
Ding v. Structure Therapeutics, Inc. 25-1532 Decided Aug. 19, 2026
Thermolife International, LLC v. Bpi Sports, LLC 23-15903 Decided Aug. 18, 2026 Authored
Duralev v. United States 23-4189 Decided Aug. 11, 2026
Pacificorp v. Sixkiller 24-4803 Decided Aug. 7, 2026 Authored
United States v. Ridley-Thomas 23-2200 Decided Aug. 3, 2026
United States v. Yates 25-2987 Decided July 29, 2026
Union Gospel Mission of Yakima Washington v. Brown 24-7246 Decided June 18, 2026
Pizzuto v. Valley 24-6233 Decided June 5, 2026
Brothers Market LLC No. 2 v. United States 24-6374 Decided April 8, 2026
Blunt v. Town of Gilbert 24-3538 Decided April 3, 2026
Imperial Sovereign Court of the State of Montana v. Knudsen 23-3581 Decided March 13, 2026 Authored

Judicial writings

Opinions, concurrences and dissents attributed to this judge by the source record.

TypeCaseCourtFiled
Dissent Baker Ranches, Inc. v. Burgum Ninth Circuit Sept. 30, 2026
Dissent United States v. Aguilera Ninth Circuit Aug. 24, 2026
Concurrence in part United States v. Aguilera Ninth Circuit Aug. 24, 2026
Dissent United States v. Cisneros Ninth Circuit Aug. 21, 2026
Opinion Thermolife International, LLC v. Bpi Sports, LLC Ninth Circuit Aug. 18, 2026
Opinion of the Court Pacificorp v. Sixkiller Ninth Circuit Aug. 7, 2026
Dissent San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States Forest Service Ninth Circuit March 13, 2026
Concurrence Imperial Sovereign Court of the State of Montana v. Knudsen Ninth Circuit March 13, 2026
Concurrence Sodha v. Golubowski Ninth Circuit Aug. 29, 2025
Opinion United States v. Andrew Hackett Ninth Circuit Dec. 18, 2024
Opinion In Re: State of Montana Department of Revenue v. Timothy L. Blixseth Ninth Circuit Aug. 14, 2024
Opinion Danny Lopez v. Aircraft Service International, Inc. Ninth Circuit July 19, 2024
Opinion Rodriguez-Hernandez v. Garland Ninth Circuit Dec. 27, 2023
Dissent MacKenzie Brown v. State of Arizona Ninth Circuit Sept. 25, 2023
Opinion Jeremy Kitchen v. Kilolo Kijakazi Ninth Circuit Sept. 14, 2023
Concurrence Sean Wright v. State of Alaska Ninth Circuit Aug. 31, 2022
Opinion United States v. Jacqueline Anderson Ninth Circuit Aug. 25, 2022
Opinion United States v. Jacqueline Anderson Ninth Circuit Aug. 25, 2022
Opinion Kathryn Spletstoser v. John Hyten Ninth Circuit Aug. 11, 2022
Opinion Dallin Fort v. State of Washington Ninth Circuit July 26, 2022