Idaho Falls attorney nominated to 9th Circuit Court

Idaho Falls attorney Ryan D. Nelson has been nominated by President Trump to serve as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The White House announced the nomination Thursday.

Nelson has served as general counsel of Melaleuca, Inc. since 2009. Prior to that, he served as special counsel for U.S. Supreme Court nominations to the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and as deputy general counsel to the White House Office of Management and Budget. He was also deputy assistant attorney general in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nelson received his B.A. degree from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from BYU Law School. On graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and to Judge Charles Brower and Richard Mosk of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at the Hague.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit had 11,096 case filings in the fiscal year 2017. The court is authorized 29 judgeships. Seven of those judgeships are currently vacant and a future vacancy will occur when Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith assumes senior status this August.