---
title: "Lawrence James Christopher VanDyke | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lawrence-james-christopher-vandyke"
page_type: "judge_profile"
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---

# Lawrence James Christopher VanDyke

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: active
- 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, 2020-present
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ, Environment and Natural Resources Division (2019)
- Private practice at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP (2005–2006, 2007–2012)
- Law clerk to Hon. Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (2006–2007)
- Clerk to the Hon. Janice Rogers Brown, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2006-2007
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, ?-present

### Education

- magna cum laude — Harvard University — 2005
- Harvard Law School – J.D., magna cum laude (2005), editor of the Harvard Law Review and Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
- Theology, summa cum laude — Bear Valley Bible College — 2002
- Montana State University – B.S. in Civil Engineering (1997, highest honors), M.C.E.M. in Construction Engineering Management (2000)
- Oklahoma Christian University — 1995

### Additional information

- Nominated by President Donald J. Trump on October 15, 2019, to replace Jay S. Bybee, confirmed by the Senate on December 11, 2019, and commissioned on January 2, 2020.
- Solicitor General, State of Nevada, NV, 2015-2019
- Solicitor General, State of Montana, MT, 2013-2014
- Assistant Solicitor General, State of Texas, TX, 2012-2012
- Practitioner, Gibson Dunn and Crutcher LLP, 2005-2012
- Bear Valley Bible Institute – B.Th., summa cum laude (2002)
- Date of birth: 1972-01-01
- He presides over federal appeals cases within the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction, which covers most of the western United States.
- VanDyke and his wife Cheryl live in Reno, Nevada, and they have three children.
- Birth place: Midland, TX

## 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/7504281)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7504281)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7504281)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15352/lawrence-james-christopher-vandyke/)
- [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/15352/lawrence-james-christopher-vandyke/)
- [Wikidata: Lawrence VanDyke](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q68224505)

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