Susan Graber

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Susan Graber
Image of Susan Graber

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Tenure
Present officeholder

Education

Bachelor's

Wellesley College, B.A., 1969

Law

Yale Law School, J.D., 1972


Susan Graber is a federal judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton.

Early life and education

Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Graber graduated from Wellesley College with her bachelor's degree in 1969, and from Yale Law School with her J.D. in 1972.[1]

Professional career

  • 1972-1974: Assistant attorney general, New Mexico Bureau of Revenue

Judicial career

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
 Candidate:Susan Graber
 Court:United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
 Progress:Confirmed 230 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated:July 30, 1997
ApprovedAABA Rating:Unanimously Well Qualified
DefeatedAQuestionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing:February 25, 1998
DefeatedAQFRs:
ApprovedAReported:March 5, 1998 
ApprovedAConfirmed:March 17, 1998
Vote:98-0

Graber was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by Bill Clinton on July 30, 1997, to a seat vacated by Edward Leavy as Leavy assumed senior status. The American Bar Association rated Graber Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Graber's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on February 25, 1998, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on March 5, 1998. Graber was confirmed on a recorded 98-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 17, 1998, and she received her commission on March 19, 1998.[1][3]

Noteworthy cases

Gay conversion therapy ban is constitutional (2013)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Pickup v. Brown, No. 12-17681)

Judge Graber was the opinion writing member of a three judge panel that ruled on the constitutionality of a ban on gay conversion therapy in California. The other two members of the panel were Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and Morgan Christen. The suit, which was brought by David Pickup on behalf of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, was a challenge of a California law that banned gay conversion therapy. They claimed that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the therapist's First Amendment right of free speech. The panel ruled the law was constitutional because therapy and psychology are a state regulated practice, therefore speech, as treatment, is not constitutionally protected.[4]

See also

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by:
Edward Leavy
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
1998–Present
Succeeded by:
NA