Obama Nominates Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Hurwitz
For the third consecutive month, President Obama has announced a nominee to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This time, the honor goes to Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Hurwitz.
Since Obama has nominated a lot of judges in the last few months, we've figured out the formula for garnering a Circuit Court of Appeals spot: federal clerkship + private practice + public sector + academia = nomination. Let's see if Justice Hurwitz adds up.
Image via Wikipedia
Hurwitz attended Princeton (AB ‘68) and Yale Law School (JD ‘72). While in law school, he served in the Connecticut Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve.
Upon finishing law school, Hurwitz clerked for Judge Jon Newman in the federal district court in Connecticut, Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Smith, and Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. After the string of clerkships, he joined Martori Meyer Hendricks & Victor, (now known as Osborn Maledon).
He served as Chief of Staff to Arizona Governors Bruce Babbitt and Rose Mofford before being appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court in 2003. Hurwitz is also an adjunct law professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
There are four nominees currently awaiting confirmation to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. President Obama nominated Alaska Supreme Court Justice Morgan Christen, District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, and Los Angeles attorney Paul Watford to the appellate bench in May, September, and October, respectively.
If confirmed, Hurwitz will fill Judge Mary M. Schroeder’s seat.
For more news and information from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, including updates on Judge Andrew Hurwitz’s nomination, add FindLaw’s Ninth Circuit blog to your RSS feed.
November 22, 2011 Editor’s Note: This post has been changed to correctly reflect that Justice Hurwitz has been nominated to fill Judge Mary Schroeder’s seat, not Judge Stephen Trott’s.
Related Resources:
- By the Numbers: Supreme Court Reversal and the Ninth Circuit (FindLaw’s Ninth Circuit blog)
- Court Says Wall Street Journal is Local Newspaper in Los Angeles (FindLaw’s California Case Law blog)
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (US Courts)
