Morgan Christen | |
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Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
Assumed office January 11, 2012 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Andrew Kleinfeld |
Associate Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court | |
In office April 5,2009 –January 11,2012 | |
Appointed by | Sarah Palin |
Preceded by | Warren Matthews |
Succeeded by | Peter J. Maassen |
Personal details | |
Born | Morgan Brenda Christen or Brenda June Christen [1] December 5,1961 Chehalis,Washington,U.S. |
Spouse | James Torgerson [2] |
Children | Erin Christen [2] |
Education | University of Washington (BA) Golden Gate University (JD) |
Morgan Brenda Christen (born December 5,1961) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She previously served as a state court judge on the Alaska Supreme Court from 2009 to 2012 and on the Alaska Superior Court from 2002 to 2009. [3]
Christen was born in 1961 in Chehalis,Washington. [4] She graduated from the University of Washington in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies. She then attended the Golden Gate University School of Law,graduating with a Juris Doctor in 1986. [1]
After graduating from law school,Christen was a law clerk to Alaska Superior Court judge Brian Shortell from 1986 to 1987. From 1987 to 2002,she was in private practice at the law firm Preston Gates &Ellis,becoming a partner in 1993. [1]
Christen was a judge on the Alaska Superior Court from 2002 to 2009. In 2009,she was one of two candidates recommended by the seven-member Alaska Judicial Council to replace Justice Warren Matthews on the Alaska Supreme Court. [5] Christen was opposed by anti-abortion advocacy groups due to her service as a Planned Parenthood board member in the mid-1990s. [3] [5] Nonetheless,on March 4,2009,Governor Sarah Palin selected Christen to fill the vacancy on the Alaska Supreme Court. [5]
On May 18,2011,President Barack Obama nominated Christen to the seat on the Ninth Circuit vacated by Andrew Kleinfeld,who assumed senior status on June 12,2010. [6] On September 8,2011,the Senate Judiciary Committee reported her nomination out of committee by a voice vote. The Senate confirmed Christen by a 95–3 vote on December 15,2011. [7] She received her commission on January 11,2012 [8] and maintains her chambers in Anchorage. [9]