Trailblazing Women in the Judiciary: Challenges and Insights

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.

Judge Consuelo Maria Callahan
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Judge Callahan was appointed by President George W. Bush in May 2003 after unanimous confirmation by the Senate. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Callahan was a state judicial officer (1986 to 2003), serving on both the trial and appellate courts. She began her judicial career as Commissioner of the Stockton Municipal Court and was subsequently appointed Judge of the San Joaquin County Superior Court and Justice of the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District. Before then, Judge Callahan was a deputy city attorney and deputy district attorney, specializing in the prosecution of career criminal, child abuse, sexual assault, and homicide cases. As a state court judge, she was active in court governance and training as a board member of the California Judges Association; she also participated in the presentation of numerous programs sponsored by the Center for Judicial Training and Research. Judge Callahan is a coauthor of The Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide: Employment Litigation. In addition, she served as a Regent for the University of the Pacific from 2005-2014 and in 2022 rejoined the Board; she is a current Trustee for Western University of Health Sciences and the American Inns of Court where she serves as Chair and President respectively. Judge Callahan has been honored as 2005 Alumna of the Year by McGeorge School of Law, 2006 Sacramento Judge of the Year, 2008 ABOTA Humanitarian Judge of the Year; she is also 2009 Athena Award Recipient, the 2014 American Inns of Court Ninth Circuit Professionalism Award Recipient, the 2016 Judge Armendariz Award Recipient, the 2017 University of the Pacific Alumni Award Recipient for Distinguished Public Service, the 2023 Saint Thomas Moore Award, and 2024 Alumni of Distinction Award.  Judge Callahan received her A.B. from Stanford University, her J.D. from McGeorge School of Law, and her LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw has served on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals since August 3, 1998, and, before that, as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California. She was nominated by President Clinton to each position and was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate each time.

Previously, Judge Wardlaw was a partner at O’Melveny and Myers, where she practiced complex litigation, with an emphasis in intellectual property and media defense law. While in private practice, Judge Wardlaw engaged in numerous community, political and governmental activities. She served as President of the Women Lawyers’ Association of Los Angeles and the Women Lawyers’ Public Action Grant Foundation and on the Boards of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, UCLA Center for Communication Policy and the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. She took leaves of absence from her law practice to join the Clinton- Gore Presidential Transition Team, where she worked in the United States Justice Department, and served as Mayor-elect Richard J. Riordan’s Government Liaison during his mayoral transition.

Judge Wardlaw graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA with an A.B. in Communication Studies in 1976. She obtained her J.D. in 1979 from UCLA Law School, where she was awarded the Order of the Coif and named the Outstanding Graduate of the Class of 1979. She externed during law school for the Honorable Joseph T. Sneed, III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and, upon graduation, served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge William P. Gray.

Judge Wardlaw, of Mexican and Scotch-Irish ancestry, was the first Latina appointed to a U.S. federal appeals court. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Maynard Toll Award for Distinguished Public Service, the UCLA Law School Alumni of the Year for Public and Community Service, the WLALA Ernestine Stahlhut Award, and the Mexican American Bar Foundation Professional Achievement Award.

She was also named a U.C. Regents Lecturer at UCLA Law School and served on the ABA Presidential Commission on Hispanic Rights and Responsibilities for two years, culminating in its 2013 report: “Latinos in the United States: Overcoming Legal Obstacles, Engaging in Civic Life.

Currently Judge Wardlaw serves on the ALI Copyright Advisory Board, the UCLA Law School Board of Advisors, and on the boards of the Center Theatre Group and the Norton Simon Museum. She also serves on the Ninth Circuit Executive Committee and Chairs the Ninth Circuit Standing Committee on Federal Public Defenders.