Richard Paez | |
|---|---|
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| Senior Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| Assumed office December 13, 2021 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| In office March 14, 2000 – December 13, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Cecil F. Poole |
| Succeeded by | Lucy Koh |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California | |
| In office June 16, 1994 – March 17, 2000 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | S. James Otero |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Anthony Paez (1947-05-05)May 5, 1947 (age 78) Salt Lake City,Utah, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Brigham Young University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
Richard Anthony Paez (born May 5, 1947)[1] is aseniorUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Born inSalt Lake City,Utah, Paez received hisBachelor of Arts degree fromBrigham Young University in 1969. He attended theUC Berkeley School of Law and graduated with aJuris Doctor in 1972.
Paez began his career as a staff attorney forCalifornia Rural Legal Assistance, from 1972 to 1974, then as a staff attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, from 1974 to 1976. He joined the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles in 1976 as senior counsel, was director of litigation from 1978 to 1979 and deputy director for litigation, from 1979 to 1980, then was acting executive director and director of litigation, from 1980 to 1981. Paez then became a judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1981 to 1994.
Following his March 9, 1994, nomination by PresidentBill Clinton, confirmation by theUnited States Senate on June 15, 1994, and reception of commission on June 16, 1994, Paez became the secondMexican American to sit on the bench of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California, a district that coversLos Angeles.[2] His service as a district court judge was terminated on March 17, 2000 when he was elevated to the court of appeals.[2]
Paez was confirmed by Senate on March 9, 2000 by a 59-39 vote,[3] more than four years after President Clinton first nominated him to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Paez waited 1,506 days to be confirmed, which at that time was the longest wait for a vote by any judicial nominee in U.S. history. The campaign against Paez's confirmation was led by SenatorsRobert C. Smith of New Hampshire andJeff Sessions of Alabama over assertions that Paez and other Ninth Circuit judges were too liberal. Then Vice PresidentAl Gore interrupted his campaign to fly back to Washington to preside over the confirmation vote.[4] He received his commission on March 14, 2000.[2] On May 10, 2021, he announced his intent to assumesenior status upon confirmation of a successor.[5] He assumedsenior status on December 13, 2021.[2]
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On August 6, 2004, Paez ruled that Maricopa County SheriffJoe Arpaio's internet broadcasting of pretrial detainees violated the 14th Amendment. He wrote: "We fail to see how turning pretrial detainees into the unwilling objects of the latest reality show serves any... legitimate goals... Inmates are not like animals in a zoo to be filmed and photographed at will..."[6]
Paez authored the ruling inBolt v. United States, which was filed on December 3, 2007. In April 1999, Carol Bolt had fallen on snow and ice in the parking lot of an Army apartment complex and broken her ankle. Paez ruled that the Army could not use the "discretionary function exception" as a defense because it failed to clear the parking area in one of its apartment complexes despite specifying a duty to do so "once a year, before the end of March".[7]
In a 2009 decision, he held that aSan Francisco resolution urging theVatican to withdraw a directive againstgay adoptions does not violate theEstablishment Clause.[8]
In a 2011 decision, he wrote the majority opinion upholding a lower court's blocking of the most controversial parts of theArizona SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration law from taking effect.[9]
Also in 2011, inMattos v. Argarano, Paez wrote the majority opinion ruling that police officers tasing a domestic violence victim who happens to be standing between the officers and her abuser violates the 4th amendment.[10]
On May 3, 2019, Paez concurred in a 9th Circuit en banc decision holding that an immigration judge erred by failing to inform a 14-year old immigrant that he might be eligible for a form of relief from removal, temporarily halting his deportation to Honduras. However, Paez went further than the majority. Paez would have ruled that the 5th Amendment'sDue Process Clause guarantees the right to appointed counsel for minors in most removal proceedings, an issue the majority declined to reach. Paez's concurrence was joined by JudgesMarsha Berzon andWilliam A. Fletcher.[11]
On February 24, 2020, Paez strongly dissented when the 9th Circuit upheld Trump's "Global Gag Rule" by a vote of 7 to 4. Paez's dissent was joined by Chief Judge Thomas, Judges Wardlaw and Fletcher. Paez also claimed that the majority was kowtowing towards the Trump administration, and he called the decision "paternalistic" and partisan.[12][13]
Paez dissented in theAmericans with Disabilities Act lawsuit,D.D. v. LAUSD, decided November 19, 2021. Paez argued that forcing the plaintiffs to go through the entire litigation process would not be helpful. He wrote "The majority has unduly burdened students with disabilities with having to proceed with a full hearing at the administrative level for claims that do not implicate a FAPE simply because the discrimination they suffer happens at school."[14] The decision was 6-5 on unusual lines; the 5 dissenters were Paez, 2 other liberals, and 2 textualist conservatives (who wrote their own dissenting opinion).
On February 4, 2022, Paez dissented from an opinion by JudgeMilan Smith determining that formerUnited States Secretary of EducationElisabeth DeVos could not be forced to sit for adeposition in a case arising out of delays in making decisions on student loans. Paez emphasized that because DeVos was only aformer cabinet secretary, ordinary concerns about disrupting an executive official's duties were not present. Paez also said that the majority decision did not give a good reason for revisiting the trial court's "holistic assessment of the record."[15]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New seat | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California 1994–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2000–2021 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
