---
title: "William Cameron Canby Jr. | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# William Cameron Canby Jr.

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, 1980-1996
- Professor of law, Arizona State University, 1967-1980
- Visiting Fulbright professor of law, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, 1970-1971
- Law clerk, Hon. Charles E. Whittaker, Supreme Court of the United States, 1958-1959
- U.S. Air Force lieutenant and judge advocate, 1956-1958
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

### Education

- Yale University — B.A. (1953)
- University of Minnesota Law School
- Yale College

### Additional information

- Special assistant, President Harris Wofford, State University of New York at Old Westbury, 1967-present
- Walter F. Mondale, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., 1966-present
- Appointed: April 2, 1980, by President Jimmy Carter to the seat vacated by Ozell Miller Trask.
- Commissioned: May 23, 1980.
- Confirmed: May 21, 1980, by the U.S. Senate (voice vote).
- deputy director, Ethiopia, 1964-1966
- U.S. Peace Corps, 1962-1966
- deputy director, Ethiopia, 1963-1964
- associate director, Ethiopia, 1962-1963
- Private practice, St. Paul, MN, 1959-1962
- Date of birth: 1931-01-01
- Special assistant, U.S. Sen.
- Birth place: St. Paul, MN

## 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/1378816)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378816)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378816)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/528/william-cameron-canby-jr/)
- [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/528/william-cameron-canby-jr/)
- [Wikidata: William C. Canby, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8006269)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr",
      "name": "William Cameron Canby Jr. | KnowJudges",
      "description": "William Cameron Canby Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-10-07",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr#judge",
      "name": "William Cameron Canby Jr.",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr",
      "jobTitle": "U.S. Circuit Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378816",
        "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/528/william-cameron-canby-jr/"
      ],
      "birthDate": "1931",
      "birthPlace": "St. Paul, MN",
      "alumniOf": [
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Yale University"
        },
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "University of Minnesota Law School"
        },
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Yale College"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "National federal courts",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/national-federal-courts"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "William Cameron Canby Jr.",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-cameron-canby-jr"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```