Know a Nominee: Judge Bridget Bade to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

(Updated 3/26/19): The Senate confirmed Judge Bridget Bade to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on a bipartisan 78-21 vote.

The Senate is expected to consider the nomination of Judge Bridget Bade to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals soon, beginning with a procedural vote on Monday. Here’s what you need to know about the nominee:

Who is she?

• Bridget Bade, 53, is a federal magistrate judge for the District of Arizona and has served in the role since her appointment in 2012. As a magistrate judge, Bade’s work consists primarily of issuing reports and recommendations to deal with procedural issues in cases before district court judges, although she has presided over four cases that went to trial.
• Bade graduated with honors from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 1990, then clerked for Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after graduation.
• She then worked for four years as a trial attorney specializing in environmental torts in the Dept. of Justice’s Civil Division before leaving the DOJ in 1995 to work in private practice focusing on civil litigation. Bade then served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona for six years starting in 2006 prior to her appointment as a magistrate judge.

What’s the outlook for her confirmation?

• The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced her nomination on a bipartisan 17-5 vote that saw five Democrats join all Republicans to vote in favor.
• Some Democrats took issue with the Judiciary Committee holding Bade’s confirmation during a Senate recess, which was only attended by two Republican members.
• Bade received a rating of “well qualified” from the American Bar Association.

What does it mean for the Ninth Circuit?

• Bade’s confirmation would fill a position on the Ninth Circuit that became vacant when Judge Barry Silverman (a Bill Clinton appointee) assumed senior status on October 11, 2016. Her duty station would be in Phoenix, Arizona.
• The Ninth Circuit has 29 active judgeships. Of the judges on the bench, nine were appointed by Bill Clinton, five by George W. Bush, seven by Barack Obama, and three by Donald Trump. Bade’s confirmation would fill one of the Ninth Circuit’s five vacant judgeships.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock / imaginima)