WriteTheUS

District Court · Ninth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada

The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.

The bench

Who sits on this court?

Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.

Judges currently in service
JudgeSinceNominated bySeat
Howard D. McKibben Senior1984Ronald ReaganNVD0501
Kent J. Dawson Senior2000William J. ClintonNVD0601
Roger L. Hunt Senior2000William J. ClintonNVD0701
James C. Mahan Senior2002George W. BushNVD0801
Robert Clive Jones Senior2003George W. BushNVD0403
Gloria Maria Navarro2010Barack ObamaNVD0503
Miranda Mai Du2012Barack ObamaNVD0702
Andrew Patrick Gordon2013Barack ObamaNVD0602
Jennifer Anna Dorsey2013Barack ObamaNVD0305
Richard Franklin Boulware II2014Barack ObamaNVD0205
Cristina Dionne Silva2022Joseph R. BidenNVD0802
Anne Rachel Traum2022Joseph R. BidenNVD0404

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)

What seats does this court have?

Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.

Judges seated now
12
Seat numbers on record
30
Seats with a sitting judge
SeatHeld bySinceHolders to date
NVD0205Richard Franklin Boulware II20141
NVD0305Jennifer Anna Dorsey20131
NVD0403Robert Clive Jones20031
NVD0404Anne Rachel Traum20221
NVD0501Howard D. McKibben19841
NVD0503Gloria Maria Navarro20101
NVD0601Kent J. Dawson20001
NVD0602Andrew Patrick Gordon20131
NVD0701Roger L. Hunt20001
NVD0702Miranda Mai Du20121
NVD0801James C. Mahan20021
NVD0802Cristina Dionne Silva20221
18 seat numbers with no sitting judge

These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.

SeatLast held byUntilHolders
NVD0101Alexander White Baldwin18691
NVD0102Edgar Winters Hillyer18821
NVD0103George Myron Sabin18901
NVD0104Thomas Porter Hawley19061
NVD0105Edward Silsby Farrington19291
NVD0106Frank Herbert Norcross19521
NVD0107Roger Thomas Foley19741
NVD0201John Rolly Ross19631
NVD0202Bruce Rutherford Thompson19921
NVD0203Harry E. Claiborne19861
NVD0204Philip Martin Pro20151
NVD0301Roger D. Foley19961
NVD0302Lloyd D. George20201
NVD0303Johnnie B. Rawlinson20001
NVD0304Larry R. Hicks20241
NVD0401Edward Cornelius Reed Jr.20131
NVD0402David Warner Hagen20051
NVD0502Brian Edward Sandoval20091

This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.

Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)

How this bench was built

Who appointed them?

The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.

Democratic
9
Republican
3
Sitting judges by appointing president
PresidentJudges
Barack Obama5
William J. Clinton2
George W. Bush2
Joseph R. Biden2
Ronald Reagan1

The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)