Stanford Grad, Former Professor Michelle Friedland Named to 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

A San Francisco lawyer, a Stanford University graduate and former professor, will take her seat soon on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, following her confirmation by a 51-40 vote of the U.S. Senate on Monday.

Michelle Friedland, 41, has been in private practice specializing in civil litigation for the past 10 years and previously taught federal jurisdiction and environmental law at Stanford Law School for two years.

 The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit rules on appeals of federal civil and criminal cases in nine western states. It is the nation's largest circuit court in terms of both the geographic area served and the number of cases handled.

President Obama nominated Friedland at the recommendation of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. She will bring the number of judges on the court to its full contingent of 29 full-time judges for the first time.

The court previously had 28 judgeships, but Congress added one more seat in 2009. The court has had a series of vacancies since 1992 and will now have no vacancy for the first time since then. Friedland is the fourth youngest judge ever appointed to the court.

One of those appointed at a younger age is Anthony Kennedy, who was appointed to the 9th Circuit in 1975 at age 38 and is now a justice of the Supreme Court.

Friedland was born in Berkeley and earned her undergraduate and law degrees at Stanford.

--Bay City News