Court of Appeals Hosts Students in Pasadena

Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals welcomed students to the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Courthouse in Pasadena on November 12, 2013. About 50 senior class students from La Canada High School visited the court as part of a Ninth Circuit civics program organized by the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles

 

Students Visit Court of Appeals in San Francisco

(L-R) Ninth Circuit Judges M. Margaret McKeown,
Consuelo M. Callahan and Sandra S. Ikuta

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit welcomed a legal research and writing class of 15 students and their professor from San Francisco State University on March 13, 2013.  The students were joined by a group of law students, who are spending the semester working as volunteer externs for Chief District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr., and District Judge John A. Mendez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

 
The group toured the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse and observed oral arguments in three appeals involving civil rights action, the Social Security Act, and a criminal conviction.  Following the oral arguments, the students spoke with some of the attorneys, who told them about the work of federal prosecutors and defense attorneys.  The students also met with some court staff, who work for the Ninth Circuit judges, and learned about the career paths taken by the judges' law clerks. 

The day ended with the students meeting Ninth Circuit Judges M. Margaret McKeown, Consuelo M. Callahan and Sandra S. Ikuta, who answered questions posed by the students regarding the federal court system and their roles as judges. 

Court of Appeals Hosts Students in Pasadena

Judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals welcomed students to the Richard H. Chambers United States Courthouse in Pasadena on November 7, 2012.  The visit by about 40 juniors from La Canada High School was part of a Ninth Circuit field trip program organized by the school’s vice principal with help from the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles.

Students were able to observe oral arguments in an Arizona death penalty case.  The students had discussed the case a week earlier with Deputy Federal Public Defender Guy Iversen, who explained legal concepts such as ineffective assistance of counsel, issues related to the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), and Proposition 34, a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty in California which failed in the last election.

Following the proceeding, students met with the judges who had heard the appeal.  Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of Pasadena and Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt of Los Angeles and Sidney R. Thomas of Billings, Montana, spent about 30 minutes answering questions from the group. 

Should an opinion be issued before the school year ends in June, school officials plan to have another class discussion to see if the students agree or disagree with the panel’s decision.



La Canada High School students at the Richard H. Chambers United States Courthouse

Judges Welcome Students, Others to the Browning Courthouse



Jefferson High School students from
Daly City, California

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, headquartered in the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco, frequently welcomes students who want to learn more about the federal judiciary.  Despite their busy schedule, the judges were generous with their time in welcoming and taking questions from several groups of local high school students, law school students from here and abroad, as well as interns and externs, seeking to expand their knowledge of the United States judicial system.

Judges who participated in several programs conducted by the court include

Circuit Judges Carlos T. Bea, Jay S. Bybee, Richard R. Clifton, William A. Fletcher, Sandra S. Ikuta, M. Margaret McKeown, Mary H. Murguia, Richard A. Paez, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and Richard C. Tallman; and Senior Circuit Judges Ferdinand F. Fernandez, Michael Daly Hawkins, Dorothy W. Nelson, Stephen S. Trott, and A. Wallace Tashima.  Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer of the District of Arizona, District Judge Raner C. Collins of the District of Arizona, and Chief District Judge Sarah S. Vance, a visiting judge from the Eastern District of Louisiana, also participated.

Beginning in May, 19 students from Jefferson High School in Daly City, California, visited the court and watched oral arguments before Circuit Judges M. Margaret McKeown, William A. Fletcher, and Senior Circuit Judge Stephen S. Trott. 

On June 11 and June 13, 2012, Circuit Judges Sandra S. Ikuta and Johnnie B. Rawlinson met with a group of appellate advocacy students from the University of Santa Clara School of Law, and law students who were volunteers at the immigration court and the ICE attorney’s office in San Francisco, and at Gibson Dunn law firm.  Later that afternoon, Senior Circuit Judge Michael Daly Hawkins and several staff attorneys met with students from Oakland International High School, Dream Academy, and toured the courthouse.

On June 12, 2012, the court welcomed 35 students from the California Attorney General’s offices in Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco, and seven law students from Townsend Kilpatrick law firm.  They observed oral arguments and met with Circuit Judge Carlos T. Bea and Senior Circuit Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez.

Circuit Judge Carlos T. Bea and Richard C. Tallman met on June 14, 2012, with 10 law students working as externs for the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, and another group of law students from Santa Clara Law.  Later that afternoon, Senior Circuit Judge Dorothy W. Nelson and Judges Rawlinson and Ikuta met with 15 students and externs from Santa Clara Law and the district court, including staff members.  The following day, a group of international law students from a summer program at UC Berkeley Law met with Judges Bea and Nelson.

Judges Clifton, Murguia, and Tashima met and took questions on July 16, 2012, from groups of law students including 30 from the San Francisco Attorney’s Office, 10 from Pillsbury law firm in San Francisco, and 10 externs for judges in the Eastern District of California.  The students and externs also had the opportunity to observe oral arguments and meet with law clerks. 

A group of 15 international law students in a program at Santa Clara Law had the opportunity to meet with Judges Clifton, Murguia, and Collins on July 18, 2012.  Fifteen law student interns for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Public Defender’s Office in the Northern District of California, and six judicial externs who are working for district and magistrate judges in Oakland also met with the judges.

Judges Bybee, Paez, and Vance met with a group of 25 UC Berkeley Law students who are participants in a joint program with the University of Tel Aviv.  The group also observed oral arguments.

On July 31, 2012, a group of 30 high school students from Mid-Peninsula Housing Summer Program in San Mateo, California; together with 20 high school students from Stanford’s Education Program for Gifted Youth; and 10 law student externs from the California Attorney General’s Office observed oral arguments before Judges Fletcher and Breyer, and with Judge Trott, who participated by video.  The judges took questions from the group following the oral arguments.

Arizona Legal Foundation Honors Ninth Circuit Judge

Arizona Legal Foundation Honors Ninth Circuit Judge



Judge Murguia speaking to students



Judge Mary H. Murguia of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was honored in June by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education.  She received the foundation's Mark Santana Law-Related Education Award at a June 21 luncheon in Phoenix.  She is the first federal judge to receive the award, which recognizes exceptional contributions by members of the Arizona bench and bar in furthering education and understanding of the role of the law in our democratic society.

Judge Murguia was recognized for her work with the Kids to Court/CourtWorks program, which provides young people with a firsthand look at the courts through a visit to the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.  Nearly 2,000 youngsters have participated in the program, which includes a mock trial, and presentations by judges, attorneys, court staff and law enforcement officers.

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