Senior Circuit Judge
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
CA Central - Pasadena
   
research associate fellow, USC Law School, 1953-56; private practice, Los Angeles, 1954-57; faculty, USC Law School, 1957-80; adjunct professor of law, USC Law School, 1980-present; nominated to 9th Circuit, September 1979, confirmed December 1979
UCLA Law School, 1953; LLM, USC, 1956
Judicial Profiles
| Title | Court | Published | 
|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Wright Nelson | 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals | Apr. 9, 2012 | 
Rulings
| Case | Category | Published | 
|---|---|---|
| 
Setty v. Shrinivas Sugandhalaya
 author 
 | 
Arbitration | Jul. 8, 2021 | 
| 
Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe
 reversed and remanded 
 | 
International Law | Jun. 18, 2021 | 
| 
Setty v. Shrinivas Sugandhalaya
 author 
 | 
Arbitration | Jan. 21, 2021 | 
| 
County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund
 vacated and remanded 
 | 
Environmental Law | Apr. 24, 2020 | 
| 
Dyroff v. The Ultimate Software Group
 author 
 | 
Immunity | Aug. 21, 2019 | 
| 
U.S. v. Begay
 author 
 | 
Criminal Law and Procedure | Aug. 20, 2019 | 
| 
Henderson v. United Student Aid Funds
 author 
 | 
Business Law | Mar. 25, 2019 | 
| 
Doe v. Nestle
 author 
 | 
Torts | Oct. 24, 2018 | 
| 
U.S. v. Garcia-Lopez
 author 
 | 
Immigration | Sep. 10, 2018 | 
| 
Hernandez v. City of San Jose
 author 
 | 
Civil Rights | Jul. 30, 2018 | 
| 
Frimmel Management v. U.S.
 author 
 | 
Immigration | Jul. 27, 2018 | 
| 
Amended Opinion: Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui
 author 
 | 
Environmental Law | Apr. 2, 2018 | 
| 
U.S. v. Adkins
 author 
 | 
Criminal Law and Procedure | Mar. 6, 2018 | 
| 
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui
 author 
 | 
Environmental Law | Feb. 5, 2018 | 
| 
American Beverage Association v. City and County of San Francisco 
 concurring 
 | 
Constitutional Law | Sep. 20, 2017 | 
| 
First Resort Inc. v. Herrera 
 author 
 | 
Constitutional Law | Jun. 28, 2017 | 
Verdicts & Settlements
| Case Name | Topic | Role | Published | 
|---|---|---|---|
| John Hernandez v. Robbins & Myers, et al. | Personal Injury (Non-Vehicular) | Expert / technical | Feb. 19, 1994 | 
| Title | Court | Published | 
|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Wright Nelson | 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals | Apr. 9, 2012 | 
| Case | Category | Published | 
|---|---|---|
| 
Setty v. Shrinivas Sugandhalaya
 author 
 | 
Arbitration | Jul. 8, 2021 | 
| 
Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe
 reversed and remanded 
 | 
International Law | Jun. 18, 2021 | 
| 
Setty v. Shrinivas Sugandhalaya
 author 
 | 
Arbitration | Jan. 21, 2021 | 
| 
County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund
 vacated and remanded 
 | 
Environmental Law | Apr. 24, 2020 | 
| 
Dyroff v. The Ultimate Software Group
 author 
 | 
Immunity | Aug. 21, 2019 | 
| 
U.S. v. Begay
 author 
 | 
Criminal Law and Procedure | Aug. 20, 2019 | 
| 
Henderson v. United Student Aid Funds
 author 
 | 
Business Law | Mar. 25, 2019 | 
| 
Doe v. Nestle
 author 
 | 
Torts | Oct. 24, 2018 | 
| 
U.S. v. Garcia-Lopez
 author 
 | 
Immigration | Sep. 10, 2018 | 
| 
Hernandez v. City of San Jose
 author 
 | 
Civil Rights | Jul. 30, 2018 | 
| 
Frimmel Management v. U.S.
 author 
 | 
Immigration | Jul. 27, 2018 | 
| 
Amended Opinion: Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui
 author 
 | 
Environmental Law | Apr. 2, 2018 | 
| 
U.S. v. Adkins
 author 
 | 
Criminal Law and Procedure | Mar. 6, 2018 | 
| 
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui
 author 
 | 
Environmental Law | Feb. 5, 2018 | 
| 
American Beverage Association v. City and County of San Francisco 
 concurring 
 | 
Constitutional Law | Sep. 20, 2017 | 
| 
First Resort Inc. v. Herrera 
 author 
 | 
Constitutional Law | Jun. 28, 2017 | 
| Case Name | Topic | Role | Published | 
|---|---|---|---|
| John Hernandez v. Robbins & Myers, et al. | Personal Injury (Non-Vehicular) | Expert / technical | Feb. 19, 1994 | 
