Judge Watford to leave 9th Cir.

The Recorder reports Judge Paul Watford Will Resign From Ninth Circuit -- The one-time short-list candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court said he plans to return to private practice.

• Judge Paul Watford, once a short-list candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court, has told the president and colleagues that he will resign from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at the end of May.
• In a Jan. 5 email to his fellow judges, Watford, 55, wrote that he anticipates returning to private practice.

[1/10 update: the DJ has Judge Paul Watford tells Biden he is leaving 9th Circuit -- The 55-year-old judge is too young to retire, and his future plans are unknown.]