Anthony Johnstone

Ninth Circuit
	Court of Appeals
Judgeships
	Posts: 29
	Judges: 29
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Mary Murguia
	Active judges: Bridget S. Bade, Mark J. Bennett, Daniel Bress, Patrick J. Bumatay, Consuelo Maria Callahan, Morgan Christen, Daniel P. Collins, Roopali Desai, Danielle Forrest, Michelle T. Friedland, Ronald Gould, Sandra Ikuta, Anthony Johnstone, Lucy H. Koh, Kenneth Kiyul Lee, Sal Mendoza Jr., Eric D. Miller, Mary Murguia, Ryan D. Nelson, Jacqueline Nguyen, John B. Owens, Johnnie Rawlinson, Gabriel Sanchez, Milan Smith, Jennifer Sung, Holly Thomas, Lawrence VanDyke, Kim McLane Wardlaw, Ana I. de Alba; Senior judges:; Carlos Bea, Marsha Berzon, Jay Bybee, William Canby, Richard Clifton, Ferdinand Francis Fernandez, William Fletcher, Susan Graber, Michael Hawkins, Andrew Hurwitz, Andrew Kleinfeld, Margaret McKeown, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Richard Paez, Mary Schroeder, Barry Silverman, Randy Smith, Richard Tallman, A. Wallace Tashima, Sidney Thomas, Stephen Trott, John Clifford Wallace, Dorothy Wright Nelson

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Anthony Johnstone
	Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Progress
	Confirmed 237 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 6, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: October 12, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: December 1, 2022 (initial nomination)/ February 2, 2023 (second hearing)/ February 9, 2023 (third hearing)
	Confirmed: May 1, 2023
	Vote: 49 - 45

Anthony Devos Johnstone is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on September 6, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 1, 2023, by a vote of 49 - 45.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Johnstone was the Helen & David Mason Professor of Law and an affiliated professor of public administration with the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana.^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 2, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Anthony Johnstone to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.^[1]^[2] Johnstone's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[6] The president renominated Johnstone on the same day. He was confirmed by a 49 - 45 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 1, 2023.^[3] Johnstone received commission on May 5, 2023.^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Johnstone on May 1, 2023, by a 49 - 45.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Johnstone confirmation vote (May 1, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	1	45	3
Independent	3	0	0
Total	49	45	6

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Johnstone's nomination on October 12, 2022. Johnstone was reported to the full Senate on December 1, 2022, after a 11-10-1 committee vote.^[8] Johnstone's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[9] The president renominated Johnstone on the same day.^[3]

In a committee hearing on February 2, 2023, the committee cast a tie vote to report Johnstone to the full United States Senate for a confirmation vote. As a result, he was not reported favorably to the full Senate. In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Johnstone was reported to the full Senate, after a 11-10 committee vote.^[5]

Nomination

On September 2, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Johnstone to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The president officially nominated Johnstone on September 6, 2022.^[1]^[2] Johnstone's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[10] The president renominated Johnstone on the same day.^[3]

Johnstone was nominated to replace Judge Sidney Thomas, who will assume senior status upon the confirmation of his successor.^[2]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Johnstone well qualified.^[11] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Johnstone earned a J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago in 1999 and a B.A. from Yale University in 1995.^[1]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
2015-2023: Solo practitioner, Johnstone PLLC
2011-2023: Helen & David Mason Professor of Law and an affiliated professor of public administration, Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
2008-2011: Solicitor for the State of Montana
2004-2008: Assistant Attorney General at the Montana Department of Justice
2000-2003: Litigation associate with Cravath, Swaine, and Moore LLP, New York
1999-2000: Law clerk for Judge Sidney Thomas on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit^[1]

About the court

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a federal appellate court with appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from all of the circuit courts within its jurisdiction and its rulings may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Ninth Circuit is the largest appellate court with 29 authorized judicial posts. Appeals are heard in the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse in San Francisco, California, the Richard H. Chambers Courthouse in Pasadena, California, the Pioneer Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, and the William K. Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle, Washington.

One judge of the Ninth Circuit went on to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Anthony Kennedy was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan (R).

Jurisdiction

Map of the Ninth Circuit. Click on a district to find out more about it.

The Ninth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over cases heard in one of its subsidiary districts. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. Appeals of rulings by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are petitioned to the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Elena Kagan is the circuit justice for the Ninth Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:

It also has appellate jurisdiction over the following territorial courts:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.