Kim McLane Wardlaw

Wardlaw worked as a law clerk for Judge William P. Gray of the United States District Court for the Central District of California and a legal extern for Judge Joseph Tyree Sneed III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Wardlaw joined the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers in 1980 as an associate, and worked at the firm for sixteen years, the final ten as a partner in the litigation department.

Wardlaw volunteered for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in California during the 1991–1992 election season, and later served on the Clinton-Gore presidential transition team, working with the United States Department of Justice.[7] She was an elected delegate from the California's 27th congressional district to the 1992 Democratic National Convention. In 1993, Wardlaw served on the Executive Committee on Debate Preparation for Richard Riordan's campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles.[7] After volunteering for Riordan's successful campaign, she worked as his Government Liaison during the mayoral transition.[7]

President Clinton nominated Wardlaw to the United States District Court for the Central District of California on August 10, 1995. The Judiciary Committee unanimously approved her nomination, and the Senate confirmed Wardlaw on December 22, 1995, by unanimous consent. She received her judicial commission on December 26, 1995. She served on the district court until August 3, 1998 when she was elevated to the court of appeals.[7]

Clinton nominated Wardlaw to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on January 27, 1998. The Judiciary Committee approved her nomination by a 17–1 vote, and the Senate again confirmed her nomination by unanimous consent on July 31, 1998. She received her judicial commission on August 3, 1998.[7]

In 2006, Judge Wardlaw held that homeless plaintiffs could challenge an ordinance banning sleeping on the street, over the dissent of Judge Pamela Ann Rymer.[8]

Wardlaw wrote the majority opinion in Bryan v. MacPherson, a case where police officers tasered a man at a traffic spot because he was not wearing a seatbelt. Wardlaw concluded that the police violated the man's 4th amendment rights, and that use of a taser can be considered excessive force. Wardlaw also wrote a concurrence in denying en banc, joined by judges Pregerson, Reinhardt, and W. Fletcher, defending her initial decision to rule against the officers.[9]

On March 8, 2017, Wardlaw ruled that Carlos Bringas-Rodriguez, a gay Mexican, must be given protection from persecution, overruling Castro-Martinez v. Holder. She ruled that Bringas-Rodriguez had suffered past prosecution, as he was abused as a child based on his sexual orientation, and that the Mexican police would not investigate the abuse because of Bringas-Rodriguez's sexual orientation. Wardlaw was joined by Chief Judge Sidney Runyan Thomas, Judge William A. Fletcher, Milan Smith, Morgan Christen, John B. Owens, Michelle T. Friedland, and Senior Judge Barry G. Silverman, over the dissent of Carlos Bea who was joined by Diarmuid O'Scannlain. Richard R. Clifton concurred in the judgement but would not overrule Castro-Martinez v. Holder.

On January 2, 2019, Wardlaw ruled that Dr. Rahinah Ibrahim had experienced sex discrimination, and Wardlaw remanded for a recalculation of Ibrahim's fees. Wardlaw also ruled that the government may have acted in bad faith. Wardlaw was joined by Sidney Runyan Thomas, M. Margaret McKeown, William A. Fletcher, Marsha Berzon, Milan Smith, Morgan Christen, and Paul J. Watford, over the partial dissent of Consuelo Callahan who was joined by N. Randy Smith and Jacqueline Nguyen. In October 2019, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, with Justice Samuel Alito commenting that he voted to take up the case.

On July 12, 2019, in City of Los Angeles V. Barr, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a nationwide injunction issued in 2018, thus upholding preferential treatment in awarding community policing grants to cities that cooperate with immigration authorities. In the opinion, Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote, "Cooperation relating to enforcement of federal immigration law is in pursuit of the general welfare, and meets the low bar of being germane to the federal interest in providing the funding to "address crime and disorder problems, and otherwise... enhance public safety... one of the main purposes for which” the grant is intended. In her dissent, Judge Wardlaw wrote, "[The Department of Justice's] decision to implement both the illegal immigration focus area and the Cooperation Certification is foreclosed by the text, structure, and purpose of the Community Policing Act."[10]

In July 2019, Wardlaw dissented when the 9th circuit en banc upheld Trump's gag rule which defunded abortion providers from Title X funds.

In March 2020, Wardlaw authored the opinion of the court on Tresóna Multimedia v. Burbank High School Vocal Music Ass'n,[11] which held the school choir's usage of the song Magic was fair use, and that the school should be awarded attorney's fees due to Tresóna's "overreaching claims of copyright infringement".[12]

Wardlaw wrote that

Tresóna did more than simply pursue an aggressive litigation strategy. It sued a public school teacher, a not-for-profit Boosters Club, and parent volunteers. [...] None of these actions furthers the purposes of the Copyright Act. Courts have a legitimate interest in deterring the type of litigation conduct in which Tresóna engaged, and in compensating those who have been harmed by such conduct. [...] Awarding Defendants their attorneys' fees insures that they are properly compensated for defending against overreaching claims of copyright infringement and pressing a defense that benefits those educating our youth. An award of attorneys' fees here assures that "an overzealous monopolist [cannot] use his copyright to stamp out the very creativity that the [Copyright] Act seeks to ignite," allowing for greater breathing room for classroom educators and those involved in similar educational extracurricular activities.

— [11]