Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges
San Francisco · 29 active judgeships · Hears appeals from the federal courts in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is one of the thirteen U.S. courts of appeals, the intermediate appellate tier of the federal judiciary. It hears appeals from the federal district courts within the Ninth Circuit, which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands. Its decisions bind those courts unless reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
9th Circuit judges by appointing president
Of 29 active judges: 13 appointed by Republican presidents, 16 by Democratic.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
- Kim M. Wardlaw
- Ronald M. Gould
- Johnnie B. Rawlinson
- Consuelo M. Callahan
- Milan D. Smith Jr.
- Mary H. Murguia
- Morgan Christen
- Jacqueline H. Nguyen
- Michelle T. Friedland
- John B. Owens
- Mark J. Bennett
- Ryan D. Nelson
- Bridget S. Bade
- Daniel A. Bress
- Patrick J. Bumatay
- Daniel P. Collins
- Danielle J. Forrest
- Kenneth K. Lee
- Eric D. Miller
- Lawrence J. C. VanDyke
- Lucy H. Koh
- Jennifer Sung
- Roopali H. Desai
- Salvador Mendoza Jr.
- Gabriel P. Sanchez
- Holly A. Thomas
- Ana I. d. Alba
- Anthony D. Johnstone
- Eric C. Tung
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
- John C. Wallace
- Dorothy W. Nelson
- Mary M. Schroeder
- William C. Canby Jr.
- Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain
- Stephen S. Trott
- Ferdinand F. Fernandez
- Michael D. Hawkins
- Atsushi W. Tashima
- Sidney R. Thomas
- William A. Fletcher
- Susan Graber
- M. M. McKeown
- Barry G. Silverman
- Marsha S. Berzon
- Richard A. Paez
- Richard C. Tallman
- Richard R. Clifton
- Carlos T. Bea
- Jay S. Bybee
- Norman R. Smith
- Andrew D. Hurwitz
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Norman Randy Smith (current) · Ryan Douglas Nelson (current) · Eric Chunyee Tung (current) · William A. Fletcher (current) · Holly Aiyisha Thomas (current) · Johnnie B. Rawlinson (current) · Stephen S. Trott (current) · John Byron Owens (current) · Jay S. Bybee (current) · Lawrence James Christopher VanDyke (current) · Ana Isabel de Alba (current) · John Clifford Wallace (current) · Kim McLane Wardlaw (current) · Michael Daly Hawkins (current) · Mary Helen Murguia (current) · Diarmuid Fionntain O'Scannlain (current) · Danielle Jo Forrest (current) · Ronald Murray Gould (current) · Morgan Christen (current) · William Cameron Canby Jr. (current) · Barry G. Silverman (current) · Bridget Shelton Bade (current) · Mary Murphy Schroeder (current) · Andrew David Hurwitz (current) · Roopali H. Desai (current) · Richard C. Tallman (current) · Eric David Miller (current) · Susan Graber (current) · Jennifer Sung (current) · M. Margaret McKeown (current) · Salvador Mendoza Jr. (current) · Atsushi Wallace Tashima (current) · Milan Dale Smith Jr. (current) · Daniel Paul Collins (current) · Richard A. Paez (current) · Lucy Haeran Koh (current) · Ferdinand Francis Fernandez (current) · Consuelo Maria Callahan (current) · Dorothy Wright Nelson (current) · Sidney Runyan Thomas (current) · Anthony Devos Johnstone (current) · Kenneth Kiyul Lee (current) · Richard R. Clifton (current) · Mark Jeremy Bennett (current) · Carlos T. Bea (current) · Patrick Joseph Bumatay (current) · Daniel Aaron Bress (current) · Michelle Taryn Friedland (current) · Marsha Siegel Berzon (current) · Gabriel Patrick Sanchez (current) · Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen (current) · James Robert Browning
Former judges
District courts in the Ninth Circuit
The federal trial courts whose appeals this circuit reviews.
Historical district courts
Earlier districts in this circuit’s territory that no longer operate: reorganized or split into today’s districts. Kept for the judges who served on them.
Practicing before this court
The rules that govern a case here (the Ninth Circuit’s local rules, standing orders, and each judge’s own procedures) live on the court’s official site. Direct links:
Links to the court’s own site, verified 2026-07-05. Rules change. Confirm against the court’s current posting before filing.
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1891. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC). Verify against the primary source before relying.