Judge Winmill takes senior status, replacement not nominated
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – After 26 years of service to the United States District Court, and a total of 34 years as a judge in both the federal and state court systems, Judge B. Lynn Winmill took senior status Monday.
As a senior district judge, Judge Winmill will continue to carry an active caseload.
No replacement judge has been nominated to fill Judge Winmill’s vacancy.
Judge Winmill was appointed as a United States District Judge for the District of Idaho by President William J. Clinton and was sworn in on August 16, 1995. He served as Chief Judge for the District of Idaho from July 1999 through December 31, 2018. In addition to those duties, Judge Winmill previously served on the Information Technology Committee for the Judicial Conference of the United States and Chair of the Ninth Circuit Information Technology Committee. He previously chaired the Ninth Circuit Conference of Chief District Judges and is a past President of the Ninth Circuit District Judges Association. He currently serves on the Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
A graduate of Idaho State University in 1974 and Harvard Law School in 1977, Judge Winmill was in private practice in Denver, Colorado from 1977 to 1979 and then in Pocatello, Idaho from 1979 to 1987. He was appointed as a district judge for the Sixth Judicial District of the State of Idaho in 1987, and then served as Administrative District Judge for the Sixth Judicial District from 1992 to 1995, when he took the federal bench.
Article III of the United States Constitution governs the appointment, tenure and payment of federal district judges who oversee civil and criminal cases. These Article III judges are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate for a lifetime appointment. Since 1954 the District of Idaho has had just two authorized full-time district judge positions.
