Margaret A. Ryan at a glance
- Current role
- U.S. Circuit Judge
- Jurisdiction
- National federal courts · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Margaret A. Ryan
U.S. Circuit Judge · Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces · U.S. Circuit Judge · Active · January 1, 2006–present
Appointment and verification
- Source authority
- CourtListener / Free Law Project
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2006-present
- In summary: Judge Margaret A. Ryan is a retired federal appellate judge and senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, now serving in a leadership role at the SEC before resigning in 2026, with a career marked by military service, high-level legal work, and academic contributions
- Before joining the court, Ryan had a distinguished career in the U.S. Marine Corps (1987–1999) as a judge advocate, including deployments to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Okinawa
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- Lecturer on Law (Military Law & Justice) at Harvard Law School and has held visiting professorships at Notre Dame and other institutions
- held the role of law clerk to Judge J. Michael Luttig (4th Circuit) and to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Education
- summa cum laude, University of Notre Dame Law School, Colonel William J. Hoynes Award for Outstanding Scholarship — J.D. (1995)
- in Political Science, cum laude, Knox College — B.A. (1985)
Additional information
- In March 2026, she resigned from this role, citing a desire to continue public service in a different capacity
- In September 2025, Ryan was appointed Director of the Division of Enforcement at the SEC
- judge from December 20, 2006, until July 31, 2020, when she became a Senior Judge
- Appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces by President George W. Bush on November 15, 2006, and confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 2006
- Date of birth: 1964-05-23
- Homewood-Flossmoor High School
- This court has appellate jurisdiction over U.S. military members under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
- During her tenure, she led a strategic shift in the division’s focus toward fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust, prioritizing cases with meaningful investor protection over technical violations
- She is also an elected member of the American Law Institute
- Awards: Meritorious Service Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- Birth place: Chicago
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces — hearing notice
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
CAAF only; compilation amended through May 29, 2026. Court may order otherwise; not applicable to ordinary federal circuits. Shared baseline only, not a judge-specific preference or complete local rules inventory. Apply source exceptions, case-type limits, later amendments and case orders.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked June 30, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · effective January 1, 2006 · Source checked August 2, 2026
View Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces current judicial profile ↗