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Anthony Johnstone

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Anthony Johnstone

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

Predecessor:Sidney Thomas (Nonpartisan)

Education

Bachelor's

Yale University, 1995

Law

The University of Chicago, 1999

Anthony Devos Johnstone is a judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on September 6, 2022, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on May 1, 2023, by a vote of 49 - 45.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Johnstone was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is one of 13U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediateappellate courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Prior to joining the court, Johnstone was the Helen & David Mason Professor of Law and an affiliated professor of public administration with the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana inMissoula, Montana.^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2023-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 2, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Anthony Johnstone to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.^[1]^[2] Johnstone's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[6] The president renominated Johnstone on the same day. He was confirmed by a 49 - 45 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 1, 2023.^[3] Johnstone received commission on May 5, 2023.^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Anthony Johnstone
Court:United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 237 days after nomination.
ANominated: September 6, 2022
AABA Rating:Well qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: October 12, 2022
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: December 1, 2022 (initial nomination)/ February 2, 2023 (second hearing)^[7]/ February 9, 2023 (third hearing)
AConfirmed: May 1, 2023
AVote: 49 - 45

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Johnstone on May 1, 2023, by a 49 - 45.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Johnstone confirmation vote (May 1, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	1	45	3
Independent	3	0	0
Total	49	45	6

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Johnstone's nomination on October 12, 2022. Johnstone was reported to the full Senate on December 1, 2022, after a 11-10-1 committee vote.^[8] Johnstone's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[9] The president renominated Johnstone on the same day.^[3]

In a committee hearing on February 2, 2023, the committee cast a tie vote to report Johnstone to the fullUnited States Senate for a confirmation vote. As a result, he was not reported favorably to the full Senate. In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Johnstone was reported to the full Senate, after a 11-10 committee vote.^[5]

Nomination

On September 2, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Johnstone to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The president officially nominated Johnstone on September 6, 2022.^[1]^[2] Johnstone's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[10] The president renominated Johnstone on the same day.^[3]

Johnstone was nominated to replace JudgeSidney Thomas, who will assumesenior status upon the confirmation of his successor.^[2]

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated Johnstonewell qualified.^[11] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Biography

Education

Johnstone earned aJ.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago in 1999 and a B.A. from Yale University in 1995.^[1]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge,United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
2015-2023: Solo practitioner, Johnstone PLLC
2011-2023: Helen & David Mason Professor of Law and an affiliated professor of public administration, Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana,Missoula, Montana
2008-2011: Solicitor for the State of Montana
2004-2008: Assistant Attorney General at the Montana Department of Justice
2000-2003: Litigation associate with Cravath, Swaine, and Moore LLP,New York
1999-2000: Law clerk for JudgeSidney Thomas on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit^[1]

About the court

Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals

Judgeships
Posts: 29
Judges: 29
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief:Mary Murguia
Active judges:Bridget S. Bade,Mark J. Bennett,Daniel Bress,Patrick J. Bumatay,Consuelo Maria Callahan,Morgan Christen,Daniel P. Collins,Roopali Desai,Danielle Forrest,Michelle T. Friedland,Ronald Gould,Anthony Johnstone,Lucy H. Koh,Kenneth Kiyul Lee,Sal Mendoza Jr.,Eric D. Miller,Mary Murguia,Ryan D. Nelson,Jacqueline Nguyen,John B. Owens,Johnnie Rawlinson,Gabriel Sanchez,Milan Smith,Jennifer Sung,Holly Thomas,Eric Tung,Lawrence VanDyke,Kim McLane Wardlaw,Ana I. de Alba Senior judges: Carlos Bea,Marsha Berzon,Jay Bybee,William Canby,Richard Clifton,Ferdinand Francis Fernandez,William Fletcher,Susan Graber,Michael Hawkins,Andrew Hurwitz,Sandra Ikuta,Andrew Kleinfeld,Margaret McKeown,Diarmuid O'Scannlain,Richard Paez,Mary Schroeder,Barry Silverman,Randy Smith,Richard Tallman,A. Wallace Tashima,Sidney Thomas,Stephen Trott,John Clifford Wallace,Dorothy Wright Nelson

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is afederal appellate court with appellatejurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to theSupreme Court of the United States.

The Ninth Circuit is the largest appellate court with 29 authorized judicial posts. Appeals are heard in the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse inSan Francisco, California, the Richard H. Chambers Courthouse inPasadena, California, the Pioneer Courthouse inPortland, Oregon, and the William K. Nakamura Courthouse inSeattle, Washington.

One judge of the Ninth Circuit went on to serve on theSupreme Court of the United States. JusticeAnthony Kennedy was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1988 by PresidentRonald Reagan (R).

Jurisdiction

Map of the Ninth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The Ninth Circuit hasappellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by theNinth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to theSupreme Court of the United States. JusticeElena Kagan is thecircuit justice for the Ninth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hasjurisdiction over thedistrict courts in the followingdistricts:

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the followingterritorial courts:

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.