SAN FRANCISCO (Press Release) — U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown has informed President Joseph R. Biden Jr., that she will assume senior status effective upon the appointment of her successor.
In her letter to President Biden dated Jan. 11, 2022, Judge McKeown noted that she was “privileged to succeed Judge Jerome Farris of Seattle in 1998” and that “It has been a great honor to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for almost 24 years.”
Judge McKeown intends “to render substantial judicial service as a senior judge,” including continuing her “engagement on workplace and ethics issues in the federal judiciary.” She added that she looks forward to doing what she can to “uphold the rule of law and to further the pursuit of equal justice under the law.”
Judge McKeown is internationally recognized for her work on judicial ethics, workplace and gender issues, and international rule of law. Appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1998, she is the former president of the Federal Judges Association and former chair of the Codes of Conduct Committee, the ethics committee for federal judges. She currently chairs the Ninth Circuit Workplace Committee and is a member of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Judicial Conduct and Disability Committee.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had 9,487 new filings in fiscal year 2021 ending September 30. All 29 authorized judgeships are currently filled.
M. Margaret McKeown
