Chief Justice Extends Term of Ninth Circuit Jurist

Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain of Portland, Oregon, will serve an additional year as chair of the Committee on International Judicial Relations of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., appointed Judge O'Scannlain as committee chair in 2010. The appointment was to end this year, but has been extended by Chief Justice Roberts through October 1, 2014. The extension was announced earlier this week.

The Judicial Conference is the national governing body for the federal courts. The conference's Committee on International Judicial Relations helps establish and expand the rule of law throughout the world. The committee was formed in 1993 to respond to increasing demand from newly emerging democracies and developing countries for information about judicial independence, legal traditions and effective court administration in the U.S.

The committee is currently involved in activities in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Basin, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe, and Eurasia.  In addition to its own initiatives, the committee collaborates on projects with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Justice, the World Bank, the Federal Judicial Center, and the Library of Congress.

Nominated by President Reagan, Judge O'Scannlain has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 1986 and ranks fourth in seniority among the court's 28 active judges. He maintains chambers in the Pioneer Courthouse in Portland.

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