--- title: "Dorothy Wright Nelson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dorothy-wright-nelson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Dorothy Wright Nelson U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Adjunct professor of law, University of Southern California Law School, 1980-present - Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1979-1995 - Faculty, University of Southern California Law School, 1957-1980; instructor, 1957-1958; assistant professor, 1958-1961; associate professor, 1961-1967; associate dean, 1965-1967; interim dean, 1967-1969; professor, 1967-1980; dean, 1969-1980 - Research associate fellow at USC Gould from 1953–1956, practiced law in Los Angeles (1954–1957), and then joined USC Gould’s faculty in 1957, rising to associate dean (1965–1967), interim dean (1967–1969), and dean (1969–1980) - Research associate fellow, University of Southern California Law School, 1953-1956 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ### Education - University of Southern California Law School (now Gould School of Law) — LL.M. (1956) - University of California — J.D. (1953) - University of California — B.A. (1950) ### Additional information - She married James F. Nelson (1927–2011), a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge, in 1950; they had two children. - American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession, Women Trailblazers in the Law Oral History Project, Radcliffe College, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women, Cambridge, Mass., 2005-2008. - "Diversifying the Judiciary: Interview with Judge Dorothy W. Nelson." Interview conducted on March 7, 1995, by Sarah Wilson. - She assumed senior status on January 1, 1995. - Nelson, Dorothy W. "Reflections of Becoming a Judge." Western Legal History 2 (1989): 107-13. - Nominated on September 28, 1979, she was confirmed by the Senate on December 19, 1979 and commissioned on December 20, 1979 to a new seat on the Ninth Circuit. - Private practice, Los Angeles, CA, 1954-1957 - Private practice, Los Angeles, California, 1954-1957 - Date of birth: 1928-01-01 - USC Gould School of Law - She was named Woman of the Year by the Los Angeles Times for her leadership. - Birth place: San Pedro, CA ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385621) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385621) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385621) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2385/dorothy-wright-nelson/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2385/dorothy-wright-nelson/) - [Judge Dorothy Wright Nelson](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385621) - [Wikidata: Dorothy Wright Nelson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5298690) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dorothy-wright-nelson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dorothy-wright-nelson", "name": "Dorothy Wright Nelson | KnowJudges", "description": "Dorothy Wright Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 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