Oregon state judge nominated for 9th Circuit seat

The White House moved Wednesday to fill a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacancy that has lingered throughout Donald Trump's presidency, nominating Oregon state trial judge Danielle J. Hunsaker to assume the Portland seat Diarmuid O'Scannlain held until taking senior status in late 2016.

Hunsaker presently serves as presiding judge of Oregon's Washington County Circuit Court. She was appointed to that role in 2017 by the state's Democratic governor, Kate Brown.

Oregon's senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, likewise Democrats, recommended Hunsaker for the opening in a letter last week to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, writing that she was among the four "highest ranked candidates" identified by a bipartisan selection committee the senators assembled.

If confirmed, Hunsaker would become Trump's eighth successful appointment to the San Francisco-based appellate court long considered the most ideologically liberal of the federal circuits. The 9th Circuit is authorized 29 judgeships.

Hunsaker's name was one of a raft of judicial nominations announced in a White House press release Wednesday, which also included five nominees intended for district court seats within California.

Jenner & Block Los Angeles partner Rick Richmond, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha and Orange County Superior Court Judge Sandy Nunes Leal were nominated for postings in the Central District. U.S. Department of Justice Associate Deputy Attorney General Adam L. Braverman and Jones Day San Diego partner Shireen Matthews were picked to fill seats in the Southern District.

In total the news release included 15 nominees, among them Connecticut federal prosecutor William J. Nardini, who is slated for an appellate vacancy in the 2nd Circuit.

Prior to her state judicial role, Hunsaker was a partner at the Portland firm Larkins Vacura Kayser LLP focusing on civil litigation and appeals work. She also taught civil procedure as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School from 2011 to 2016. She earned her law degree from the University of Idaho.

Like Ryan Bounds, the previous -- eventually withdrawn -- nominee to the Portland vacancy, Hunsaker clerked for the seat's prior occupant, O'Scannlain. Bounds' nomination was pulled shortly before a confirmation vote due to concerns over college writings.