Marsha Berzon

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Marsha Berzon
Image of Marsha Berzon

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (senior status)
Tenure

2022 - Present

Years in position

2

Prior offices
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit

Education

Bachelor's

Radcliffe College, 1966

Law

University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1973

Personal
Birthplace
Cincinnati, Ohio

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Marsha Siegel Berzon is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. She joined the court in 2000 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D). She assumed senior status on January 12, 2022.[1][2]

Early life and education

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Berzon graduated from Radcliffe College with her B.A. in 1966, and from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law with her J.D. in 1973.[1]

Professional career

Judicial career

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Marsha L. Berzon
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 772 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: January 27, 1998
ApprovedAABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: July 30, 1998
June 16. 1999
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: July 1, 1999 
ApprovedAConfirmed: March 9, 2000
ApprovedAVote: 64-34
DefeatedAReturned: October 21, 1998

Berzon was first nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1998, to a seat vacated by John Noonan. The American Bar Association rated Berzon Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.[3] Hearings on Berzon's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on July 30, 1998. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the standing rules of the Senate, Berzon's nomination was returned to the president on October 21, 1998. President Clinton resubmitted the nomination on January 26, 1999. Hearings were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 16, 1999, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on July 1, 1999. Berzon was confirmed on a recorded 64-34 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2000, and she received her commission on March 16, 2000.[1][4][5]

Noteworthy cases

Judge finds NCIS search illegal (2014)

NCIS employee Steve Logan conducted online surveillance from his desk of computers in the state of Washington. While working, Logan identified a private citizen's computer containing images of child pornography. Logan turned this information over to Seattle police. In turn, the police furthered the investigation and eventually arrested and charged Michael Dreyer with possession of child pornography. Dreyer was convicted based, at least partly, on the evidence NCIS uncovered and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Dreyer appealed, claiming his motion to suppress the NCIS evidence, as well as evidence gathered based on that search, should have been granted rather than denied. A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit agreed with Dreyer.

Judge Marsha Berzon wrote for the majority. In response to Logan's argument that he was only able to identify the suspect’s whereabouts within a 30-mile radius of the IP address he identified and that he wrote in a search warrant that the large Department of Defense saturation in the area indicated a likelihood that the suspect was in the military, Berzon wrote, "To accept that position would mean that NCIS agents could, for example, routinely stop suspected drunk drivers in downtown Seattle on the off-chance that a driver is a member of the military, and then turn over all information collected about civilians to the Seattle Police Department for prosecution." The lone dissenter, Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, said that to apply the exclusionary rule in cases like this should be the last resort; societal costs must be considered before excluding evidence. He was particularly scathing when writing how the majority decision benefited Dreyer, who obviously possessed illegal child pornography in his home.

Articles:

Court upholds striking of Planned Parenthood defunding law (2013)
See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (PLANNED PARENTHOOD ARIZONA INC. v. TOM BETLACH, 12-17558)

Judge Berzon was the opinion-writing judge on a three-judge panel, that included Jay Bybee and Consuelo B. Marshall, that affirmed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Neil Wake. Wake ruled that an Arizona law, that defunded Planned Parenthood, was in violation of the Medicaid Act. In her opinion Judge Berzon wrote,

“ The Arizona law violates this requirement by precluding Medicaid patients from using medical providers concededly qualified to perform family planning services to patients in Arizona generally, solely on the basis that those providers separately perform privately funded, legal abortions.[6][7] ”

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Berzon, Marsha Siegel," accessed January 25, 2022
  2. ↑ Law.com, "Another 9th Circuit Judge ‘Goes Senior,’ Creating Second Vacancy on Court," April 6, 2021
  3. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 105th Congress," accessed July 16, 2016
  4. ↑ United States Congress, PN 828 - Marsha L. Berzon - The Judiciary," accessed July 16, 2016
  5. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 33 - Marsha L. Berzon - The Judiciary," accessed July 16, 2016
  6. ↑ Courthouse News, "Abortion Providers Beat Arizona's Maneuvering," August 22, 2013
  7. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
2000-2022		 Succeeded by
-


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