15 Facts About Richard Paez

Richard Anthony Paez was born on May 5,1947 and is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Richard Paez attended the UC Berkeley School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1972.

Richard Paez began his career as a staff attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, from 1972 to 1974, then as a staff attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, from 1974 to 1976.

Richard Paez joined the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles in 1976 as senior counsel, was director of litigation from 1978 to 1979 and deputy director for litigation, from 1979 to 1980, then was acting executive director and director of litigation, from 1980 to 1981.

Richard Paez then became a judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1981 to 1994.

Richard Paez waited 1,506 days to be confirmed, which at that time was the longest wait for a vote by any judicial nominee in US history.

Also in 2011, in Mattos v Argarano, Paez wrote the majority opinion ruling that police officers tasing a domestic violence victim who happens to be standing between the officers and her abuser violates the 4th amendment.

On May 3,2019, Richard Paez concurred in a 9th Circuit en banc decision holding that an immigration judge erred by failing to inform a 14-year old immigrant that he might be eligible for a form of relief from removal, temporarily halting his deportation to Honduras.

Richard Paez would have ruled that the 5th Amendment's Due Process Clause guarantees the right to appointed counsel for minors in most removal proceedings, an issue the majority declined to reach.

On February 24,2020, Richard Paez strongly dissented when the 9th Circuit upheld Trump's "Global Gag Rule" by a vote of 7 to 4.

Richard Paez's dissent was joined by Chief Judge Thomas, Judges Wardlaw and Fletcher.

Richard Paez claimed that the majority was kowtowing towards the Trump administration, and he called the decision "paternalistic" and partisan.

Richard Paez argued that forcing the plaintiffs to go through the entire litigation process would not be helpful.

On February 4,2022, Richard Paez dissented from an opinion by Judge Milan Smith determining that former United States Secretary of Education Elisabeth DeVos could not be forced to sit for a deposition in a case arising out of delays in making decisions on student loans.

Richard Paez emphasized that because DeVos was only a former cabinet secretary, ordinary concerns about disrupting an executive official's duties were not present.