Ben Settle

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Benjamin Hale Settle
	Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Progress
	Confirmed 225 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 15, 2006
	ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified (with one abstention)
	Questionnaire:
	Hearing: March 13, 2007
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: April 25, 2007
	Confirmed: June 28, 2007
	Vote: 99-0
	Returned: December 9, 2006

Benjamin Hale Settle is a federal judge on senior status on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. He joined the court in 2007 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R). He assumed senior status on January 1, 2020.^[1]

Early life and education

A native of Olympia, Washington, Settle graduated from Claremont McKenna College with his bachelor's degree in 1969 and from the Willamette University College of Law with his J.D. in 1972.^[1]

Military service

Settle served in the U.S. Army judge advocate general corps from 1973 to 1976.^[1]

Professional career

2007 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- 2020 - Present: Senior judge
- 2007-2019: Judge
1972, 1976-2007: Private practice, state of Washington^[1]

Judicial career

Western District of Washington

Settle was first nominated by President George W. Bush on November 15, 2006, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington vacated by Franklin Burgess. The American Bar Association rated Settle Unanimously Qualified (with one abstention). Under provisions of Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate, Settle's nomination was returned to the president on December 9, 2006. President Bush resubmitted the nomination on January 9, 2007. Hearings on Settle's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 13, 2007, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on April 25, 2007. Settle was confirmed on a recorded 99-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 28, 2007, and he received his commission on July 2, 2007. Settle assumed senior status on January 1, 2020.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Noteworthy cases

Supreme Court overturns preliminary injunction in gender dysphoria military service case

See also: Supreme Court emergency orders related to the Trump administration, 2025

On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order titled Prioritizing Military Excellence And Readiness, which said, "Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service." In February 2025, the Department of Defense issued a memorandum banning "individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria" from military service.^[5]

Seven transgender military members, a transgender person who wished to join the military, and the Gender Justice League filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington challenging the policy. In the lawsuit, they said the federal government was banning individuals from military service based on sex and transgender status, and that this action violated "the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Fifth Amendment and the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment."^[6] On March 27, 2025, Judge Ben Settle granted the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction on the federal government's policy.^[7]

The federal government then filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court, saying the policy "draws classifications based on a medical condition (gender dysphoria) and related medical interventions," and did not ban individuals from serving on the basis of their transgender or sex status. The federal government said it met the rational-basis review required for drawing classifications based on a medical condition.^[8] On May 6, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the federal government's request in a 6-3 decision and stayed Settle's order. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.^[9]

R-71 signature release case (2009)

See also: United States District Court for the Western District of Washington ((dead link) Doe v. Reed, 3:09-cv-05456-BHS)

For more background information on R-71 please see Washington Referendum 71 (2009) on Ballotpedia.

On September 8, 2009, Judge Ben Settle ruled against a challenge from a gay rights groups in Washington. The group asked for the release of petition records signed in favor of R-71, which expanded the legal protections of domestic partners.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title The judge found that the methods the Washington Secretary of State's Office used to check the validity of the signatures were legal.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title

Following the 2010 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in Doe v. Reed that made petition signatures public per Washington's Public Records Act, anti-gay marriage advocates renewed efforts to prevent the names of people who signed the petition from being released. However, on October 17, 2011, Judge Settle ruled on the matter and determined that the signatures could be released. Later that day, Washington officials released copies of the petitions.^[10]

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