Ryan Douglas Nelson

Ryan Douglas Nelson (born June 23, 1973) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was previously nominated to become Solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior, but was never confirmed. Early life and education Nelson earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1996. He then attended BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he was lead articles editor of the BYU Law Review. During law school, he was a law clerk for then-Senate Legal Counsel, Thomas B. Griffith, during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, and assisted with preparation for Clinton's impeachment trial. He graduated in 1999 with a Juris Doctor with honors and Order of the Coif membership. Legal career After law school, Nelson served as a law clerk for Judge Karen L. Henderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and for Richard M. Mosk and Charles N. Brower of the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Nelson worked as an associate at Sidley Austin. He argued 13 federal court of appeals cases on environmental and constitutional issues before becoming a judge.