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Paul Jeffrey Watford
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2012
Paul Jeffrey Watford , Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Senate voted 61–34 on the nomination on May 21, 2012 (Nomination Confirmed). Paul Jeffrey Watford (born August 25, 1967) is an American lawyer who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2012 to 2023. In 2016, The New York Times identified Watford as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Watford resigned his judgeship in 2023 and became a partner at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
- Senate votes
- 1
Senate confirmation votes
- United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit
112th Congress · Nomination Confirmed61–34 · May 21, 2012
Education
- University of California, BerkeleyB.A., 1989
- University of California, Los Angeles, School of LawJ.D., 1994
Career
Law clerk, Hon. Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1994-1995; Law clerk, Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States, 1995-1996; Private practice, Los Angeles, California, 1996-1997, 2000-2012, 2023-; Assistant U.S. attorney, Central District of California, 1997-2000; Lecturer-in-law, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, 2007-2009
Biography
Paul Jeffrey Watford (born August 25, 1967) is an American lawyer who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2012 to 2023. In 2016, The New York Times identified Watford as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Watford resigned his judgeship in 2023 and became a partner at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
More
From Senate roll call votes, Wikidata, Wikipedia and Office of Government Ethics records.
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Capitol Receipts, “Paul Jeffrey Watford : Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth…,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/appointee/j3431/paul-jeffrey-watford (accessed 2026-10-14).