Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Page 3
O’Scannlain Named Head of International Judicial Group
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain has been appointed chair of the Committee on International Judicial Relations of the Judicial Conference of the United States, court officials announced yesterday.
The three-year appointment was made by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., effective Friday.
O’Scannlain, who has served on the committee since 2009, said he was “deeply honored” by the appointment.
“The committee is dedicated to fostering the rule of law by working with judiciaries throughout the world,“ he remarked. “I look forward to continuing our efforts to achieve this goal.”
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 United States, according to its website. Its stated mission is to serve as a resource in the establishment and expansion of the rule of law and the administration of justice throughout the world.
Assisted by staff of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C., 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 on International Judicial Relations works with the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Justice, the World Bank, the Federal Judicial Center, other committees of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and various non-governmental organizations. It also works with the Library of Congress in the Open World Program for jurists from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Ninth Circuit Senior Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall and retired U.S. District Judge Fern M. Smith of the Northern District of California both previously served as chairs of the committee.
O’Scannlain, a 1986 appointee of then-President Ronald Regan, ranks fifth in seniority among the court’s 25 active judges. He is a graduate of St. John’s University and Harvard Law School, and holds a master’s degree in judicial process from the University of Virginia Law School.
He is a former deputy attorney general for the state of Oregon and a former chairman of that state’s Republican Party, and served on several state and federal governmental commissions studying energy policies.
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