---
title: "Jay S. Bybee | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jay-s-bybee"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Jay S. Bybee

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

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2003-present
- Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel (2001–2003)
- As Assistant Attorney General, Bybee signed the 2002 “Torture Memos” that authorized “enhanced interrogation techniques” used at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib
- Assistant attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001-2002
- Professor at Louisiana State University (1991–1998) and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1999–2001)
- Professor, William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, 1999-2000
- Professor, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University, 1991-1998
- Attorney, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1986-1989
- U.S. Department of Justice roles: Office of Legal Policy (1984–1986), Civil Division (1986–1989)
- Attorney, Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 1984-1986
- Law clerk, Hon. Donald Russell, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1980-1981
- Law clerk to Judge Donald S. Russell (4th Circuit)
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

### Education

- J.D. (cum laude) from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, 1980
- (magna cum laude) in Economics, Brigham Young University — B.A. (1977)
- Bybee is a Senior Fellow in Constitutional Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

### Additional information

- Ninth Circuit until assuming senior status in 2019.
- He has authored books, including Powers Reserved for the People and the States (2006), and has spoken at numerous legal and public events.
- Nominated by President George W. Bush on January 7, 2003, to a seat vacated by Procter R. Hug Jr., and confirmed by the Senate on March 13, 2003.
- Associate counsel, President George H. W. Bush, 1989-1991
- Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1981-1984
- Date of birth: 1953-01-01
- These memos have been widely criticized and are considered by some to constitute war crimes.
- His judicial work spans constitutional law, administrative law, and civil procedure.
- Birth place: Oakland, 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/1391741)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391741)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391741)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/488/jay-s-bybee/)
- [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/488/jay-s-bybee/)
- [Wikidata: Jay Bybee](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6166451)

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