WASHINGTON — The United States Senate voted Thursday to confirm Idaho Falls attorney Ryan Nelson as a judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I am grateful for the Senate’s advice and consent today in confirming me as a 9th Circuit Judge and am excited to get to work,” Nelson told EastIdahoNews.com. “I am particularly grateful to Sen. Crapo and Sen. Risch for championing my nomination and for my eternally patient wife and family who have been stalwarts through this confirmation process.”
Nelson was born and raised in Idaho Falls. He attended the Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School. He worked in the federal government as special counsel for Supreme Court nominations to the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also worked as deputy general counsel to the White House Office of Management and Budget and as deputy assistant attorney general in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.
In 2009, he moved back to Idaho Falls and began serving as general counsel for Melaleuca Inc.
“I am grateful to my Melaleuca family who brought me back home nine years ago and have supported me ever since,” Nelson said.
Nelson was nominated by President Donald Trump in May to serve as a judge on the 9th Circuit.
“Ryan has been widely recognized by his colleagues for his judgement and legal expertise and will serve our nation well on the 9th Circuit,” Crapo, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a news release. “He understands that a judge is responsible for interpreting and applying the Constitution and laws of the land as they are written, and not to be a maker of laws from the bench.”
Risch added, “Throughout his diverse legal career, Ryan Nelson developed the necessary tools to serve the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals as a sound and principled jurist. A native Idahoan, Ryan will bring a valuable perspective to the court — upholding our way of life, respecting the rule of law, and rejecting judicial activism.”
