Once derided, now becoming the home of responsible jurisprudence
The Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has been widely derided by legal observers for years as the "Ninth Circus" for being the longstanding most overturned appeals court in the federal judiciary.
The times they are a changing. President Obama's Democratic Party's failure to control the Senate during the latter part of his presidency meant that he only has seven appointees remaining on the bench that hears appeals for the western United States. His predecessor, George W. Bush still has nine.
The Court is allowed 29 members, but as they get older, they move to senior status where they help with workload, and the total number of judges is 48. Of the 29, 16 were appointed by Democrat Presidents and 13 by Republicans. Of senior judges eight are Democrat appointees and 11 by Republican presidents.
What's made the difference is the hard work of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been quietly moving President Trump's appointments nationwide, including the Ninth Circuit. All Federal judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. While they are usually described as lifetime appointments, the US Constitution says that they serve during "good behavior" -- a term not defined.
The Ninth Circuit is especially important as it decides appeals from a great swath of western states -- many having to do with environmental or land regulations. A shift in the balance of power on this court could cause a great change in the way cases on these issues are decided.
| Seniority | Name | Status | Appt. Date | Appointed By |
| 1 | Sidney R. Thomas | Chief Judge | 1996-01-04 | Clinton |
| 2 | Alfred T. Goodwin | Senior Circuit Judge | 1971-11-30 | Nixon |
| 3 | J. Clifford Wallace | Senior Circuit Judge | 1972-06-28 | Nixon |
| 4 | Mary M. Schroeder | Senior Circuit Judge | 1979-09-26 | Carter |
| 5 | Jerome Farris | Senior Circuit Judge | 1979-09-27 | Carter |
| 6 | Dorothy W. Nelson | Senior Circuit Judge | 1979-12-20 | Carter |
| 7 | William C. Canby, Jr. | Senior Circuit Judge | 1980-05-23 | Carter |
| 8 | Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain | Senior Circuit Judge | 1986-09-26 | Reagan |
| 9 | Edward Leavy | Senior Circuit Judge | 1987-03-23 | Reagan |
| 10 | Stephen S. Trott | Senior Circuit Judge | 1988-03-25 | Reagan |
| 11 | Ferdinand F. Fernandez | Senior Circuit Judge | 1989-05-22 | Bush |
| 12 | Andrew J. Kleinfeld | Senior Circuit Judge | 1991-09-16 | Bush |
| 13 | Michael Daly Hawkins | Senior Circuit Judge | 1994-09-15 | Clinton |
| 14 | A. Wallace Tashima | Senior Circuit Judge | 1996-01-04 | Clinton |
| 15 | Barry G. Silverman | Senior Circuit Judge | 1998-02-04 | Clinton |
| 16 | Susan P. Graber | Circuit Judge | 1998-03-19 | Clinton |
| 17 | M. Margaret McKeown | Circuit Judge | 1998-04-08 | Clinton |
| 18 | Kim McLane Wardlaw | Circuit Judge | 1998-08-03 | Clinton |
| 19 | William A. Fletcher | Circuit Judge | 1998-10-09 | Clinton |
| 20 | Ronald M. Gould | Circuit Judge | 1999-11-22 | Clinton |
| 21 | Richard A. Paez | Circuit Judge | 2000-03-14 | Clinton |
| 22 | Marsha S. Berzon | Circuit Judge | 2000-03-16 | Clinton |
| 23 | Richard C. Tallman | Senior Circuit Judge | 2000-05-25 | Clinton |
| 24 | Johnnie B. Rawlinson | Circuit Judge | 2000-07-26 | Clinton |
| 25 | Richard R. Clifton | Senior Circuit Judge | 2002-07-30 | Bush |
| 26 | Jay S. Bybee | Senior Circuit Judge | 2003-03-21 | Bush |
| 27 | Consuelo M. Callahan | Circuit Judge | 2003-05-28 | Bush |
| 28 | Carlos T. Bea | Senior Circuit Judge | 2003-10-01 | Bush |
| 29 | Milan D. Smith, Jr. | Circuit Judge | 2006-05-18 | Bush |
| 30 | Sandra S. Ikuta | Circuit Judge | 2006-06-23 | Bush |
| 31 | N. Randy Smith | Senior Circuit Judge | 2007-03-19 | Bush |
| 32 | Mary H. Murguia | Circuit Judge | 2011-01-04 | Obama |
| 33 | Morgan Christen | Circuit Judge | 2012-01-11 | Obama |
| 34 | Jacqueline H. Nguyen | Circuit Judge | 2012-05-14 | Obama |
| 35 | Paul J. Watford | Circuit Judge | 2012-05-22 | Obama |
| 36 | Andrew D. Hurwitz | Circuit Judge | 2012-06-27 | Obama |
| 37 | John B. Owens | Circuit Judge | 2014-04-02 | Obama |
| 38 | Michelle T. Friedland | Circuit Judge | 2014-04-29 | Obama |
| 39 | Mark J. Bennett | Circuit Judge | 2018-07-13 | Trump |
| 40 | Ryan D. Nelson | Circuit Judge | 2018-10-18 | Trump |
| 41 | Eric D. Miller | Circuit Judge | 2019-03-04 | Trump |
| 42 | Bridget S. Bade | Circuit Judge | 2019-04-01 | Trump |
| 43 | Daniel P. Collins | Circuit Judge | 2019-05-22 | Trump |
| 44 | Kenneth Kiyul Lee | Circuit Judge | 2019-06-12 | Trump |
| 45 | Daniel A. Bress | Circuit Judge | 2019-07-26 | Trump |
| 46 | Danielle J. Hunsaker | Circuit Judge | 2019-11-12 | Trump |
| 47 | Patrick J. Bumatay | Circuit Judge | 2019-12-12 | Trump |
| 48 | Lawrence VanDyke | Circuit Judge | 2020-01-02 | Trump |
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2020-07-28 20:02:12 | Last Update: 2020-07-28 20:02:22 |
