Lawrence VanDyke
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Lawrence James Christopher VanDyke (born December 12, 1972) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a
United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...
since 2020. He previously served as the
solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
of
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from 2015 to 2019 and of
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
from 2013 to 2014.


Early life and education

VanDyke was born in 1972 in
Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...
, and grew up in
Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...
. After attending
Oklahoma Christian University Oklahoma Christian University (OC) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was founded in 1950 by members of the Churches of Christ. History Oklahoma Christian University, originally named Central Christian College, ...
from 1992 to 1995, VanDyke studied
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
at
Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...
, graduating in 1997 with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
with highest honors. He worked for his family's construction company and did graduate study at Montana State for the next three years, receiving a Master of Construction Engineering Management degree in 2000. VanDyke graduated from Bear Valley Bible Institute, a
Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christianity, Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for C ...
in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, in 2002 with a
Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...
degree, ''summa cum laude''. He then attended
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
, where he was an editor of the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...
'' and the ''
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy The ''Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy'' (JLPP) is a law review at Harvard Law School published by an independent student group. It has served as the flagship journal of the Federalist Society. Established by Spencer Abraham and Stephen Eber ...
''. He graduated in 2005 with a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
, ''magna cum laude''.


Legal career

VanDyke was in private practice at the law firm
Gibson Dunn Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm has more than 1,900 attorneys and 1,000 staff in 21 offices across the world, including North America, Europe, ...
from 2005 to 2006, then served as a
law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...
to judge
Janice Rogers Brown Janice Rogers Brown (born May 11, 1949) is an American jurist. She served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2006 to 2017 and before that, Associate Justice of the Cal ...
of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...
from 2006 to 2007. He returned to Gibson Dunn from 2007 to 2012. While in private practice, VanDyke performed ''pro bono'' legal work for groups including the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
, the
Free Market Foundation The Free Market Foundation (FMF) refers to itself as a classical liberal think tank located in Bryanston, Johannesburg, South Africa. Founded in 1975, the FMF was established to further human rights and democracy through the principles of an ope ...
, and the
Alliance Defending Freedom The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious practices within public schools and in government. ADF is most known ...
. In 2010, VanDyke filed an ''amicus'' brief in '' Christian Legal Society v. Martinez'' on behalf of Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty, in which he argued that a college student group had a
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
right to exclude from membership students whose sexual conduct violated the group's stated beliefs. From 2012 to 2013, VanDyke was an assistant to the
Solicitor General of Texas The Solicitor General of Texas is the top appellate solicitor or lawyer for the U.S. state of Texas. It is an appointed position in the Office of the Texas Attorney General that focuses on the office's major appellate cases. The majority of the ...
. He was then appointed the Solicitor General of Montana but resigned in 2014, citing strain in the workplace. As Solicitor General of Montana, he submitted numerous ''
amicus curiae An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...
'' briefs filed in other states. He recommended signing on to other states' challenges to state and federal gun laws, co-wrote a brief supporting an Arizona law prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks, and recommended that Montana file a brief in a New Mexico case involving a photographer who refused to photograph a lesbian commitment ceremony. VanDyke later ran unsuccessfully for the
Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court w ...
. He became Solicitor General of Nevada under
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Adam Laxalt Adam Paul Laxalt ( ; born August 31, 1978) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's unsuccessful nominee for governor of Nevad ...
in 2015, where he served until 2019 when he became a deputy Assistant Attorney General for the
United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division The United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) is one of seven litigating components of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. ENRD's mandate is to enforce civil and crimin ...
. Since graduating law school, VanDyke has been a member of the
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...
.


Federal judicial service

On September 20, 2019, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
announced his intent to nominate VanDyke to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...
. Nevada Senators
Jacky Rosen Jacklyn Sheryl Rosen (née Spektor; born August 2, 1957) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party ...
and
Catherine Cortez Masto Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Nevada, a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Pa ...
, both Democrats, announced their opposition in the nomination. The nomination was to the seat being vacated by Judge
Jay Bybee Jay Scott Bybee (born October 27, 1953) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior U.S. circuit judge of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has published numerous articles in law journals and has taught as a senior fellow ...
, who previously announced his intention to assume senior status on December 31, 2019. Six retired justices of the Montana Supreme Court publicly opposed VanDyke's nomination. VanDyke received a "not qualified" rating from the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
(ABA). An ABA evaluator conducted 60 anonymous interviews with lawyers, judges, and others who had worked with VanDyke. In unusually personal terms, the ABA published a critique of VanDyke in a letter to the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...
; that letter asserted that some interviewees described VanDyke as "'arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice'" of law. The ABA added that "'There was a theme that the nominee lacks humility, has an 'entitlement' temperament, does not have an open mind, and does not always have a commitment to being candid and truthful'". The ABA also raised "concerns about whether Mr. VanDyke would be fair to persons who are
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
,
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
, or otherwise part of the
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
community, claiming that "Mr. VanDyke would not say affirmatively that he would be fair to any litigant before him, notably members of the LGBTQ community." On October 30, 2019, a hearing on VanDyke's nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee and it became contentious. Most of the two-hour hearing was focused on VanDyke's record on LGBTQ issues. During his confirmation hearing, VanDyke was asked by Senator
Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...
(R- MO), "Did you say that you wouldn't be fair to members of the LGBTQ community?" VanDyke broke down in tears, denying the accusation: "I did not say that. I do not believe that. It is a fundamental belief of mine that all people are created in the image of God and they should all be treated with dignity and respect". Senator
Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy ( ; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also was the pr ...
(D- VT), questioned VanDyke about an opinion editorial he wrote in 2004 while a student at Harvard Law noting that
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
may be harmful for children on average. VanDyke stated generally that some of his personal views have changed since that time. VanDyke said that his ABA evaluator told him that she was in a "hurry" and did not give him the opportunity to fully respond to concerns. The ABA acknowledged that the lead ABA evaluator assigned to VanDyke, Montana attorney Marcia Davenport, had contributed $150 to VanDyke's opponent in a 2014 Montana Supreme Court election. The ABA's handling of VanDyke was widely denounced by conservative commentators. Writing for ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'', John McCormack asked: "Were VanDyke's comments to the ABA twisted or taken wildly out of context in order to paint him as a bigot? It is hard to believe any judicial nominee would suggest during an interview with the ABA that he might not be 'fair' to all litigants." McCormack asked the ABA for a transcript of the relevant portion of its interview with VanDyke, but the ABA declined to provide one. Legal scholar Adam White, a former member of the ABA's Administrative Law Section, wrote a ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' op-ed arguing that there was "no basis on which to evaluate any of the broad-brush descriptions of Mr. VanDyke. We don't know what basis, if any, his critics have for these judgments, or even who they are. We're expected to take the ABA's disparagement at face value". The ''Wall Street Journal'' editorial board also published a critique of the ABA's treatment of VanDyke. Writing in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'', law professor
Josh Blackman Joshua Michael Blackman is an American lawyer who is employed as an associate professor of law at the South Texas College of Law where he focuses on constitutional law and the intersection of law and technology. He has authored one book and co-a ...
suggested that " ing forward, when a nominee is rated as unqualified, the transcript should be released, and the recording should be posted publicly online." On November 21, 2019, VanDyke's nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On December 10, 2019, the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
invoked
cloture Cloture (, ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. is ...
on his nomination by a 53–40 vote. On December 11, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–44 vote. He received his judicial commission on January 2, 2020.


Notable opinions

Reports have noted VanDyke's strident dissents in a number of cases.


''McDougall v. County of Ventura''

VanDyke wrote a majority opinion holding that two California counties violated the
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
when they shut down gun and ammunition stores in 2020 as nonessential businesses during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In an unusual move, VanDyke wrote a concurrence to his own opinion, predicting that the case will be heard ''en banc'' and claiming that "no firearm-related ban or regulation ever ultimately fails" in the Ninth Circuit. He criticized his court's approach to Second Amendment challenges as "exceptionally malleable". He then attached a 13-page concurrence, writing a ruling in favor of the California counties—the opposite conclusion of his own opinion for the panel—and explaining: "I figure there is no reason why I shouldn’t write an alternative draft opinion that will apply our test in a way more to the liking of the majority of our court. That way I can demonstrate just how easy it is to reach any desired conclusion under our current framework, and the majority of our court can get a jumpstart on calling this case en banc. Sort of a win-win for everyone." He ended the alternate opinion with "You’re welcome."


2022 beauty pageant case

VanDyke held in a court case that beauty pageant companies may exclude
trans women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...
as part of their
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
rights. In this case, he wrote, "It is commonly understood that beauty pageants are generally designed to express the 'ideal vision of American womanhood'."


''United States v. Idaho''

On September 28, 2023, VanDyke upheld Idaho's abortion law despite its lack of exceptions for medical emergencies. On November 13, 2023, the 9th circuit, en banc, voted 7–4 to temporarily block Idaho's abortion ban due to its lack of exceptions for medical emergencies. On January 5, 2024, the Supreme Court said it would take up the case and dissolved the 9th circuit's temporary injunction. On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed the case on the grounds that its review would be premature, reinstated the injunction, and returned the case to the 9th circuit to decide the case on the merits.


''Duncan v. Bonta''

In ''Duncan v. Bonta'', a challenge to a California law that limits gun magazine capacity to 10 bullets. The ''
en banc In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...
'' panel upheld the law, and VanDyke accused the majority of "distrust nggun owners and think ngthe
Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
is a vestigial organ of their living constitution". VanDyke concluded his dissent for Duncan V. Bonta by saying that the ruling means that "at most, you might get to possess one janky handgun and 2.2 rounds of ammunition, and only in your home under lock and key." VanDyke later went on to record a video dissent to more easily show, as well as state, the reasoning for his dissent, with a focus on the insistence of the state that magazines were not an 'arm' protected by the Second Amendment and instead were an 'accessory' due to them being a part of a firearm that could be changed. He went on to show how that reasoning/logic by the state could be used to effectively ban any 'protected arm' they wished as the vast majority of the parts that make up any modern firearm could then be classified as an 'accessory' as almost every single part can be changed.


See also

* Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies *
Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his vi ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:VanDyke, Lawrence 1972 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Montana lawyers Montana State University alumni Nevada lawyers People associated with Gibson Dunn People from Midland, Texas Solicitors general of Montana Solicitors general of Nevada Texas lawyers United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump United States Department of Justice lawyers