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Michelle T. Friedland

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Michelle T. Friedland
Image of Michelle T. Friedland
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Tenure

2014 - Present

Years in position

11

Education

Bachelor's

Stanford University, 1995

Law

Stanford Law School, 2000

Personal
Birthplace
Berkeley, Calif.


Michelle Taryn Friedland is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Prior to joining the court, Friedland was a litigation partner at the San Francisco-based office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.

Early life and education

Born in Berkeley, California, Friedland earned her undergraduate degree with honors in 1995 from Stanford University. She studied on a Fulbright Scholarship at Oxford University. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2000, graduating second in her class.[1]

Professional career

Judicial career

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Michelle T. Friedland
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 270 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: August 1, 2013
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: November 6, 2013
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: January 16, 2014 
ApprovedAConfirmed: April 28, 2014
ApprovedAVote: 51-40
DefeatedAReturned: January 3, 2014

On August 1, 2013, President Obama nominated Friedland to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to fill the vacancy left by Raymond Fisher.[3] Obama commented on the nomination, stating, "Michelle T. Friedland, Justice Nancy L. Moritz and John B. Owens will bring an unwavering commitment to fairness and judicial integrity to the federal bench. Their impressive legal careers are testaments to the kind of thoughtful and diligent judges they will be on the Ninth and Tenth Circuits. I am honored to nominate them today."[1]

Friedland was rated Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination by the American Bar Association.[4] Hearings on Friedland's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on November 6, 2013. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph six, of the standing rules of the U.S. Senate, Friedland's nomination was returned to the president on January 3, 2014.[5]

Friedland was renominated by President Obama on January 6, 2014.[6] Friedland's nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on January 16, 2014. Friedland was confirmed on a recorded 51-40 vote of the United States Senate on April 28, 2014, and she received her commission on April 29, 2014.[2][7]

Reactions to the confirmation

Michelle Friedland will be an excellent addition to the Ninth Circuit, and I am very pleased the Senate confirmed her today. Friedland's confirmation means the Ninth Circuit, by some measures the busiest circuit court in the country, for the first time has its full complement of 29 active judges.

[8]

—Sen. Dianne Feinstein, [9]

Noteworthy cases

Ninth Circuit panel upholds injunction on January 2017 executive order limiting immigration (2017)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (State of Washington et al. v. Trump et al.)

On January 27, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an executive order, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, impacting refugee admissions and immigrant and nonimmigrant travel from seven countries. The order suspended for 90 days entry into the United States for individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The order also suspended refugee admissions to the United States for 120 days while the process was reviewed for additional national security measures that could be implemented. The admission of Syrian refugees was suspended indefinitely.

In response to a lawsuit against the order from the states of Washington and Minnesota, U.S. District Judge James Robart issued a temporary nationwide block of the order on February 3, 2017. The block prohibited federal employees from enforcing Section 3 and Section 5 of the executive order while the full case is considered. The Justice Department appealed Judge Robart's block, and on February 9, 2017, a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals composed of Judges William Canby, Richard Clifton, and Michelle T. Friedland unanimously upheld the injunction in a per curiam order. On February 16, 2017, the Department of Justice filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit stating that President Trump would be rescinding the executive order and issuing a new one to eliminate constitutional concerns.[10][11][12]

President Trump rescinded the executive order on March 6, 2017, and issued a new order to take effect on March 16.[13]

See also: Federal policy on immigration, 2017-2020

See also

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
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United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
2014-Present
Succeeded by
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