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Sidney Thomas

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Sidney Thomas
Image of Sidney Thomas
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (senior status)
Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

2

Prior offices
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

Education

Bachelor's

Montana State University, 1975

Law

University of Montana School of Law, 1978

Personal
Birthplace
Bozeman, Mont.

Sidney Runyan Thomas is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He joined the court in 1996 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D). Thomas served as chief judge from December 1, 2014, to December 1, 2021.[1][2][3]

On March 29, 2022, Thomas announced he would assume senior status upon the appointment of his successor.[4] He assumed senior status on May 5, 2023. Anthony Johnstone was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) to replace Thomas on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on September 6, 2022.[2]

Early life and education

Born in Bozeman, Montana, Thomas graduated from Montana State University with his bachelor's degree in 1975, and from the University of Montana School of Law with his J.D. in 1978.[2]

Professional career

Judicial career

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Sidney R. Thomas
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 167 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: July 19, 1995
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: October 24, 1995
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: November 9, 1995 
ApprovedAConfirmed: January 2, 1996
ApprovedAVote: Voice vote

Thomas was nominated to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Bill Clinton on July 19, 1995, to a seat vacated by Dorothy Wright Nelson. The American Bar Association rated Thomas Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[5] Hearings on Thomas' nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 24, 1995, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on November 9, 1995. Thomas was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on January 2, 1996, and he received his commission on January 4, 1996. Thomas served as chief judge of the circuit from December 1, 2014, to December 1, 2021.[1][2][6]

Supreme Court candidate

According to a White House source of The Associated Press, Judge Thomas was interviewed by President Obama on April 29, 2010, as a possible candidate to replace John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court of the United States. Thomas was also interviewed by the vice president of the United States, Joe Biden.[7]

Noteworthy cases

Divided Ninth Circuit panel rules class action waivers violate labor law

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Stephen Morris et al. v. Ernst & Young, LLP, No. 13-16599)

On August 22, 2016, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Ernst & Young required its employees to sign agreements that mandated any work-related claims be submitted to individual arbitration. The agreements contained a waiver against any concerted action; that is, the employees could neither initiate nor join any class action or collective action proceedings against the company in any forum. Further, claims in arbitration were required to be brought in separate proceedings. Two employees filed a class action against the firm. The district court granted Ernst and Young's motion to dismiss and to compel arbitration in the case in accordance with the terms of the arbitration agreement, but writing for a 2-1 panel Judge Sidney Thomas reversed and remanded the lower court's decision, holding that such waivers violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Thomas wrote,[8]

The NLRA establishes a core right to concerted activity. Irrespective of the forum in which disputes are resolved, employees must be able to act in the forum together. The structure of the Ernst & Young contract prevents that. Arbitration, like any other forum for resolving disputes, cannot be structured so as to exclude all concerted employee legal claims. As the Supreme Court has instructed, when 'private contracts conflict with' the NLRA, 'they obviously must yield or the Act would be reduced to a futility.'[9]

Thomas went on to reject Ernst & Young's argument that such waivers were permitted under the Federal Arbitration Act. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in this case during its October 2017 term.

For more, see Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis
For more, see NLRB v. Murphy Oil

See also

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
1996-2023
Succeeded by
Anthony Johnstone