---
title: "Stephen S. Trott | KnowJudges"
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# Stephen S. Trott

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

- Associate attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, 1986-1988
- He subsequently became Associate Attorney General from 1986 to 1988
- Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on August 7, 1987, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, filling the seat vacated by Judge Joseph Tyree Sneed III
- From 1983 to 1986, Trott was appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, 1981-1983
- He then held the role of the United States Attorney for the Central District of California from 1981 to 1983
- Began his legal career as a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County, California, serving from 1966 to 1981
- Deputy district attorney, Los Angeles County, CA, 1966-1981
- During this period, he advanced to Chief Deputy District Attorney from 1975 to 1979

### Education

- Harvard University — LL.B. (1965)
- Harvard Law School in — LL.B. (1965)
- Wesleyan University in, where he was an early member of the folk music group The Highwaymen, famous for the hit “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” — B.A. (1962)

### Additional information

- He assumed senior status on December 31, 2004, and became inactive in December 2020.
- Stephen Spangler Trott was born on December 12, 1939, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
- Date of birth: 1939-01-01
- overseeing the Organized Crime and Narcotics Division and acting as Legislative Advocate and Senior Trial Deputy.
- received his commission the following day.
- focusing on cases involving drug trafficking, terrorism, espionage, organized crime, and public corruption.
- overseeing broader departmental operations.
- Birth place: Glen Ridge, NJ

## 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/1388956)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388956)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388956)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3267/stephen-s-trott/)
- [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/3267/stephen-s-trott/)
- [Wikidata: Stephen S. Trott](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7610445)

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