William A. Fletcher at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Jurisdiction
- National federal courts · Federal
- Judicial service
- October 9, 1998–present
William A. Fletcher
Judge · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Available research
Biography
Professional career
- Professor of law, University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1977-1998
- Law clerk, Hon. William J. Brennan, Jr., Supreme Court of the United States, 1976-1977
- Law clerk, Hon. Stanley A. Weigel, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1975-1976
- U.S. Navy lieutenant, 1970-1972
Judicial service
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1998-present
Education
- Harvard University · B.A., 1968
- Yale University · J.D., 1975
Personal record
Born 1945 · Philadelphia, PA
Courtroom rules and guidance
Appellate Oral Argument
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.
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 unnecessaryFederal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument ↗
Sources
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · checked July 25, 2026
https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390781CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1079/william-a-fletcher/Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure