Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Richard Clifton
2016 - Present
8
Richard R. Clifton is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. He joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R).
Early life and education
Born in Farmingham, Massachusetts, Clifton graduated from Princeton University with his bachelor's degree in 1972, and from Yale Law School with his J.D. in 1975.[1]
Professional career
- 2002-present: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
- 2016-present: Senior judge
- 2002-2016: Judge
- 1977-2002: Private practice, Honolulu, Hawaii
- 1978-1980; 1983-1989: Adjunct professor, Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii
- 1975-1976: Law clerk, Hon. Herbert Choy, United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Judicial career
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Richard R. Clifton |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 391 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: June 22, 2001
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: May 9, 2002
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: May 16, 2002
|
| Confirmed: July 18, 2002
|
| Vote: 98-0
|
 Returned: August 3, 2001
|
Clifton was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by President George W. Bush on June 22, 2001, to a seat vacated by Cynthia Holcomb Hall, as Hall elected to take senior status. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph six, of the standing rules of the United States Senate, Clifton's nomination was returned to the president. President Bush resubmitted the nomination on August 3, 2001. The American Bar Association rated Clifton Unanimously Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Clifton's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on May 9, 2002, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on May 16, 2002. Clifton was confirmed on a 98-0 recorded vote of the Senate on July 18, 2002, and he received his commission on July 30, 2002. Clifton elected to take senior status beginning December 31, 2016.[1][3][4]
Noteworthy cases
Slidewaters v. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (2020)
Slidewaters v. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries: On July 14, 2020, Chief Judge Thomas Rice of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington refused to enjoin enforcement of Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D) emergency COVID-19 business restrictions. A waterpark, Slidewaters at Lake Chelan, which had been forced to shutter summer operations as a result of the restrictions, sought the injunction. In its initial motion for a temporary restraining order, the waterpark challenged Inslee’s Proclamation 20-05, proclaiming a state of emergency for all counties in Washington; Proclamation 20-25.4, a four-phase plan for reopening the state; and Department of Labor and Industries (LNI) emergency rule WAC 296-800-14035, which established mechanisms to enforce the mandatory business closures. Though the temporary restraining order was denied on June 12, 2020, the plaintiff continued to seek a preliminary injunction, arguing, "(1) Governor Inslee does not have the authority to issue the emergency proclamations; (2) LNI does not have authority to issue an emergency rule based on the governor's unlawful emergency proclamations; and (3) defendants' actions have violated plaintiffs' substantive due process rights." Rice rejected these arguments, finding that Washington law allows a governor to proclaim a state of emergency during times of disorder. Rice also ruled that LNI acted within its power to issue emergency rules based on the governor's proclamation. Lastly, Rice dismissed the plaintiff's substantive due process claim: "It is not the court's role to second-guess the reasoned public health decisions of other branches of government." The plaintiff appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[5][6][7][8]
On July 8, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed Rice's decision. Judge Richard Clifton, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, said, "Defendants have the authority under Washington law to impose the restrictions and ... doing so does not violate Slidewaters' asserted rights under the U.S. Constitution." The Ninth Circuit found that the state's actions were rationally connected to the legitimate state interest of mitigating the spread of COVID-19.[9]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 107th Congress," accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress, PN 563 - Richard R. Clifton - The Judiciary, accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress, PN 894 - Richard R. Clifton - The Judiciary, accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, "Slidewaters v. Washington Department of Labor and Industries: Motion for Temporary Restraining Order," June 8, 2020
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, "Slidewaters v. Washington Department of Labor and Industries: Order Denying Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order," June 12, 2020
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, "Slidewaters v. Washington Department of Labor and Industries: Order Denying Preliminary and Permanent Injunction," July 14, 2020
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, "Slidewaters v. Washington Department of Labor and Industries: Notice of Appeal by Plaintiff Slidewaters," July 15, 2020
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, "Slidewaters v. Washington State Department of Labor and Industries: Opinion," July 8, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Cynthia Holcomb Hall |
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 2002–2016 |
Succeeded by: Mark J. Bennett
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Hawaii • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Hawaii
State courts:
Hawaii Supreme Court • Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals • Hawaii Circuit Courts • Hawaii District Courts • Hawaii Family Courts
State resources:
Courts in Hawaii • Hawaii judicial elections • Judicial selection in Hawaii
