Benchlight The federal appellate judiciary

Appointment

Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Title
Judge
Appointed by
William J. ClintonDemocratic
Seat
CA91702
Nominated
Oct. 20, 1999
Committee hearing
March 23, 2000
Committee action
Reported (favorably)April 12, 2000
Senate vote
Voice
Confirmed
May 24, 2000
Commissioned
May 25, 2000
ABA rating
Well Qualified
Senior status
March 3, 2018

Source Federal Judicial Center.

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
Edwards v. Brown 25-6849 Decided Sept. 28, 2026
United States v. Gessen 24-2979 Decided Sept. 8, 2026
United States v. Cisneros 24-6774 Decided Aug. 21, 2026
Nilsen v. University of Washington 24-7460 Decided Aug. 13, 2026 Authored
Duralev v. United States 23-4189 Decided Aug. 11, 2026
Seagraves v. Washington State Department of Children Youth and Families 25-3282 Decided July 21, 2026
United States v. Shi 24-1969 Decided July 2, 2026 Authored
Cocom v. Abm Aviation, Inc. 25-3246 Decided June 23, 2026
Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians v. Blanche 25-2340 Decided May 6, 2026 Authored
Armando Santana-Gonzalez v. Pamela Bondi 16-70793 Decided April 8, 2026
Alfonso Verduzco Ruiz v. Pamela Bondi 18-71787 Decided April 1, 2026 Authored
O'dell v. Aya Healthcare Services, Inc. 25-1528 Decided April 1, 2026
Sandler v. Modernizing Medicine, Inc. 24-6623 Decided March 19, 2026
State of Washington v. United States Department of Education 26-510 Decided Feb. 24, 2026
Friends of Animals v. Burgum 24-5786 Decided Jan. 14, 2026 Authored
Industrial Park Center LLC v. Great Northern Insurance Company 24-4788 Decided Dec. 23, 2025
Vip Mortgage Incorporated v. Gates 24-7624 Decided Dec. 22, 2025
United States v. Patrick 24-2638 Decided Dec. 19, 2025 Authored
United States v. Allen 24-804 Decided Nov. 17, 2025
Pena v. City of Los Angeles 24-2422 Decided Nov. 4, 2025

Judicial writings

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

TypeCaseCourtFiled
Opinion Nilsen v. University of Washington Ninth Circuit Aug. 13, 2026
Opinion of the Court United States v. Shi Ninth Circuit July 2, 2026
Opinion Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians v. Blanche Ninth Circuit May 6, 2026
Opinion Alfonso Verduzco Ruiz v. Pamela Bondi Ninth Circuit April 1, 2026
Opinion Friends of Animals v. Burgum Ninth Circuit Jan. 14, 2026
Opinion United States v. Patrick Ninth Circuit Dec. 19, 2025
Opinion United States v. Patrick Ninth Circuit Sept. 15, 2025
Opinion United States v. Gordon Ninth Circuit Aug. 19, 2025
Opinion McMahon v. World Vision Inc. Ninth Circuit Aug. 5, 2025
Opinion Burch v. City of Chubbuck Ninth Circuit July 25, 2025
Opinion United States v. Westfall Ninth Circuit July 10, 2025
Opinion Lawanda Small v. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America Ninth Circuit Dec. 10, 2024
Opinion Mitchell Garraway v. Jacquiline Ciufo Ninth Circuit Sept. 3, 2024
Opinion CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION V. ARMOND ARIA Ninth Circuit Dec. 13, 2022
Opinion JAMES KLEISER V. BENJAMIN CHAVEZ Ninth Circuit Dec. 9, 2022
Opinion Newtok Village v. Andy Patrick Ninth Circuit Dec. 22, 2021
Opinion Alfredo Esquivel v. United States Ninth Circuit Dec. 17, 2021
Opinion United States v. Jorge De La Mora-Cobian Ninth Circuit Nov. 29, 2021
Opinion Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. 50509 Marine LLC Eleventh Circuit Nov. 24, 2020
Opinion Jorge Rico v. Clark Ducart Ninth Circuit Nov. 20, 2020