Margaret Ann "Meg" Ryan (born May 23, 1964) is a senior judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other pers ...

. She joined the court in 2006 after being nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Her term expired on July 31, 2020.

Early life and education

Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Ryan attended

Homewood-Flossmoor High School Homewood-Flossmoor High School (H-F) is a comprehensive public high school in Flossmoor, Illinois. The district encompasses nearly 11.5 square miles drawing students from Homewood, Flossmoor, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, Hazel Crest, and Olympia ...

, and graduated from Knox College with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in political science in 1985. Ryan attended law school under the Marine Corps Law Education Program at the

University of Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic Church, Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among th ...

, where she also was a member of the '' Notre Dame Law Review''. She received her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree, ''summa cum laude'', in 1995 and was awarded the Colonel

William J. Hoynes William James Hoynes (18461933) was an Irish-American professor and academic who was the dean of the law department at the University of Notre Dame. He was also a veteran of the American Civil War, newspaper editor, lawyer, and was "famed as a phi ...

Award as valedictorian of her class.

Legal career

Following graduation from Knox College, Ryan served on active duty for the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

from 1988 to 1992, and again following Law School graduation as a judge advocate from 1995 to 1999. Ryan served in units within the II & III Marine Expeditionary Forces as a Staff Officer,

Company Commander A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 250 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons. The exact organization of a company varies by country, ...

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

Commander, and Operations Officer. Judge Ryan's tours included deployments to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, during a coup attempt, and to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. As a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer, Ryan served as a Trial Counsel and Chief Trial Counsel in Okinawa, Japan and Quantico, Virginia. Ryan was then selected by General

Charles C. Krulak Charles Chandler Krulak (born March 4, 1942) is a retired United States Marine Corps General (United States), four-star general who served as the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1999. He is the son of Lieutenant ...

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

, to serve as his Aide de Camp. Ryan was

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Judge

J. Michael Luttig John Michael Luttig ( ; born June 13, 1954) is an American corporate lawyer and jurist who was a U.S. federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1991 to 2006. Luttig resigned his judgeship in 2006 to become general coun ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and then to Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...

of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 2001–2002. Prior to joining the court, Ryan was in private practice. She was at

Wiley Rein LLP Wiley Rein LLP (known as Wiley) is one of the largest law firms in Washington, D.C., United States. With 240 lawyers, the firm represents clients in complex regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. Many of the firm's lawyers and public ...

from 2004 until her appointment to the court. Before that she was with Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott from 2002 to 2004 and Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal from 1999 to 2000. As of 2022, she is the J.J. Clynes Endowed Visiting Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, where she teaches Evidence, Military Law, and Constitutional Issues in the Military Justice System. Judge Ryan is also a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and an elected member of the American Law Institute.

Court of Appeals service

Ryan was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces by President

on November 15, 2006 to replace Judge

H. F. Gierke III H. F. Gierke III (born Herman Fredrick Gierke III; March 13, 1943 – August 7, 2016) was an American judge who served as the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces from 2004 to 2006. He was a Judge of the United ...

, who retired September 30, 2006. She was confirmed less than a month later by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

on December 9, 2006 by unanimous consent. Ryan's appointment for a 15-year term was due to expire on July 31, 2021. However, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces website indicated that Judge Ryan's term would end on July 31, 2020.Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
In 2012, Judge Ryan joined the court majority that found that it did not have jurisdiction to order disclosure of trial documents from the Chelsea Manning court-martial. When the court majority reversed the conviction of a soldier for attempting suicide, Judge Ryan dissented, arguing that the appeals court did not have jurisdiction. In September 2016, Ryan was named as a possible nominee to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

by Republican presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. Judge Ryan is married to Michael J. Collins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Margaret A. 1964 births Living people People from Chicago Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni Knox College (Illinois) alumni United States Marine Corps officers Notre Dame Law School alumni Law clerks of J. Michael Luttig American military lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces United States Article I federal judges appointed by George W. Bush

Early life and education

Legal career

Court of Appeals service

See also

References