Ryan Douglas Nelson (born June 23, 1973) is a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. He was previously nominated to become Solicitor of the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

, but was never confirmed.

Early life and education

Nelson earned 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 year ...

in English literature from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) in 1996. He then attended BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he was lead articles editor of the ''

BYU Law Review The ''Brigham Young University Law Review'' is a law journal edited by students at Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was ...

''. During law school, he was a law clerk for then-Senate Legal Counsel,

Thomas B. Griffith Thomas Beall Griffith (born July 5, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who was a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2020. Griffith was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal o ...

, during the impeachment trial of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, and assisted with preparation for Clinton's impeachment trial. He graduated in 1999 with a Juris Doctor with honors and

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

membership.

Legal career

After law school, Nelson served as a law clerk for Judge

Karen L. Henderson Karen LeCraft Henderson (born July 11, 1944) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Distric ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate co ...

and for Richard M. Mosk and Charles N. Brower of the

Iran–United States Claims Tribunal The Iran–United States Claims Tribunal (IUSCT) is an international arbitral tribunal established by the Algiers Accords, an international agreement between the U.S. and Iran embodied in two Declarations by the Government of the Democratic and ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Nelson worked as an associate at

Sidley Austin Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 20 offices worldwide. The firm's headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. The firm specializes in a variety of areas in both litigatio ...

. He argued 13 federal court of appeals cases on environmental and constitutional issues before becoming a judge. Nelson previously served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

and as Deputy General Counsel for the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

. He also served as special counsel for the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

and as a law clerk for the Senate Legal Counsel. From 2009 to 2018, Nelson was General Counsel of Melaleuca, Inc. In July 2017, he was nominated to be Solicitor of the

. In September 2017, Nelson appeared before the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...

. His nomination was then placed on the Senate Executive Calendar, but it was never confirmed by the full Senate.

Federal judicial service

On May 10, 2018, President

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 P ...

withdrew Nelson's nomination to be Solicitor of the Department of the Interior and announced his intent to instead nominate him to serve as a

of the

. On May 15, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. Nelson was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge

N. Randy Smith Norman Randy Smith (born August 11, 1949) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He lives and maintains chambers in Pocatello, Idaho. Background A native of southeastern Idaho, Smith ...

, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on August 11, 2018. On July 11, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. On September 13, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. On October 11, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–44 vote. He received his judicial commission on October 18, 2018.

Memberships

Nelson has been a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...

since 1997. He has served as a council member and co-chair of the General Counsel Committee for the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice since 2012. Nelson has been a member of the Idaho Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Eagle Rock Inns of Court since 2010. He was a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association from 2005 until 2018.

Personal life

Nelson was born and raised in

Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 64,8 ...

. Nelson is married to Barbara Baer and they have seven children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Ryan D. 1973 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American Mormon missionaries in Belgium Brigham Young University alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Idaho lawyers J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit People from Idaho Falls, Idaho United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump United States Department of Justice lawyers United States Office of Management and Budget officials United States Senate lawyers