The Hon. Mary H. Murguia, Chief Circuit Judge, Ninth Circuit will receive the Ruth V. McGregor Award at the Reception.
The Honorable Mary H. Murguia Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Murguia is the first Latina to serve as chief judge of a federal appellate court. She is the Ninth Circuit’s 12th chief judge and the second woman to hold the position on the court.
Nominated by President William J. Clinton for a new judgeship for the U. S. District of Arizona and confirmed in October 2000, Judge Murguia was the first Latina to serve on the District of Arizona. She served in that capacity until she was elevated to the circuit court after nomination by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 2010.
A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Judge Murguia received bachelor’s degrees in both art and science from the University of Kansas in 1982, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1985. Prior to coming onto the federal bench, Judge Murguia was an Assistant District Attorney for Wyandotte County, Kansas, from 1985 to 1990, and an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, where she served as criminal deputy chief. She served in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2000, and was the director of that office beginning in 1999.
She maintains chambers in Phoenix but travels extensively for oral arguments and other court business. In addition to hearing cases, as chief judge, Judge Murguia’s responsibilities include a variety of administrative duties. She chairs two judicial policy-making bodies, the Executive Committee of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit. She also represents the Ninth Circuit at biannual meetings of the Judicial Conference of the United States (JCUS), the judiciary’s national governing body. As chief judge she presides when an 11-judge en banc court is convened to resolve cases posing intra-circuit legal conflicts or to consider other matters deemed to be of exceptional importance.