N. Randy Smith to Take Senior Status, Opening Up Another Ninth Circuit Seat
Judge N. Randy Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has announced that he will be taking senior status next year, opening up another spot to fill for President Donald Trump on the nation's largest federal appellate court.
December 14, 2017 at 06:13 PM
3 minute read
Judge N. Randy Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has announced that he will be taking senior status next year, opening up another spot to fill for President Donald Trump on the nation's largest federal appellate court.
Smith, a President George W. Bush appointee, announced his intention to go senior on Aug. 11, 2018, but indicated that he intends to take cases as a senior judge. “I look forward to continuing service to our country,” wrote Smith in a Dec. 1 letter to Trump. “However, at that time, I wish to provide another opportunity for an Idaho lawyer to serve here.”
Smith, a native of southeastern Idaho, previously served as a state judge for the Sixth District in Pocatello, Idaho, where he keeps his Ninth Circuit chambers. He was nominated to two different vacancies on the Ninth Circuit by Bush before eventually being confirmed in 2007.
Smith was initially nominated in late 2005 to a seat vacated by Judge Stephen Trott, who kept chambers in Boise. However, California's U.S. senators argued Smith shouldn't fill a “California seat” at the Ninth Circuit, since Trott was confirmed while a Californian and initially kept chambers in the state. Smith was eventually nominated and confirmed in early 2007 to a seat vacated by fellow Idahoan Judge Thomas Nelson.
While serving on the Ninth Circuit, Smith most notably wrote the dissenting opinion in Perry v. Brown, the Ninth Circuit decision that found California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
“Our personal views regarding the political and sociological debate on marriage equality are irrelevant to our task,” wrote Smith in the opening of his dissent. Smith wrote that Proposition 8 should be decided under rational basis review taking into account whether the government action was rationally related to a legitimate public purpose. He found that a number of the reasons set forth for the proposition, including that it promoted “responsible procreation” and “optimal parenting,” met that low threshold.
Smith's move gives Trump yet another seat to fill on the court, which he has repeatedly criticized. In September, Trump nominated Ryan Bounds, an assistant U.S. attorney in Portland and former clerk for Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, to fill the seat left open when O'Scannlain took senior status at the end of last year.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFederal Judge Named in Lawsuit Over Underage Drinking Party at His California Home
2 minute readBiden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates, including two convicted of California murders
6 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250