---
title: "Marsha Siegel Berzon | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/marsha-siegel-berzon"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Marsha Siegel Berzon

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, 2000-present
- Law clerk, Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr., Supreme Court of the United States, 1974-1975
- Law clerk, Hon. James R. Browning, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1973-1974
- Contributor to the California Law Review and clerked for Judge James R. Browning of the Ninth Circuit (1973–74) and for Associate Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court — Brennan’s first female law clerk
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

### Education

- University of California, Berkeley School of Law in — J.D. (1973)
- Radcliffe College (Harvard University) in — B.A. (1966)

### Additional information

- Practitioner-in-residence, Cornell School of Law, 1994-present
- Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley, 1992-present
- 18, 2026) and In Re: Kia Hyundai Vehicle Theft Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (Sept.
- In April 2021, she announced her intent to take senior status upon confirmation of a successor, which occurred on January 23, 2022.
- She was confirmed by the Senate on March 9, 2000 (64–34 vote) and commissioned on March 16, 2000.
- Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 1978-2000
- On January 27, 1998, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Ninth Circuit, replacing John T. Noonan Jr., who had taken senior status in 1996.
- Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1975-1977
- Date of birth: 1945-01-01
- As a senior judge, Berzon continues to sit on panels and author opinions in appellate cases, with recent activity including Fain v.
- In summary, Marsha Siegel Berzon is a distinguished jurist with a career marked by high-profile litigation, scholarly contributions, and a long tenure on the Ninth Circuit, now serving in senior status while remaining active in judicial work.
- Birth place: Cincinnati, OH

## 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/1391116)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391116)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391116)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/264/marsha-siegel-berzon/)
- [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/264/marsha-siegel-berzon/)
- [Wikidata: Marsha S. Berzon](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6773396)

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