Tuesday, October 16, 2018

9th Circuit gets another Judge Nelson!

Last week the Senate confirmed Idaho Attorney Ryan Nelson to the 9th Circuit. The Court's full News Release is here:

Judge Nelson, who is expected to maintain chambers in Idaho, was nominated to the court on May 10, 2018. After appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 11, 2018, his nomination was reported to the Senate floor on September 13, 2018. He fills a judgeship vacant since August 11, 2018, when Judge N. Randy Smith of Pocatello, Idaho, assumed senior status.
Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Nelson has served as general counsel of Melaleuca, Inc., based in Idaho Falls since 2009. He served previously as special counsel for U.S. Supreme Court nominations to the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2009. He also served as deputy general counsel to the White House Office of Management and Budget, from 2008 to 2009, and deputy assistant attorney general in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2006 to 2008. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nelson engaged in private practice in the Washington, D.C., office of Sidley Austin LLP from 2001 to 2006.
Born in Idaho Falls, Judge Nelson received his B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1996 and his J.D. from BYU Law School in 1999, graduating with honors and inducted into the Order of the Coif. While in law school, he was a lead articles editor of the BYU Law Review. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, from 1999 to 2000, and to Judges Charles N. Brower and Richard M. Mosk of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague from 2000 to 2001.