A federal appeals court judge nominated by President Donald Trump is facing misdemeanor criminal charges after allegedly swiping a man’s glasses off his face, throwing them across a parking lot, and stomping on them during a dispute over a parking space — and two months later, he is still hearing cases, according to weekend news reports.
Judge Ryan D. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was charged April 22 with misdemeanor battery and malicious injury to property by the Idaho Falls city prosecutor’s office, according to court records first reported by the Idaho State Journal and confirmed Saturday by Bloomberg Law. The charges stem from an April 2 confrontation in a parking lot in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Nelson pleaded not guilty on May 13. A pretrial conference is scheduled for June 18. The Idaho State Journal, which broke the story Friday, also published video of the incident showing Nelson behaving aggressively in the lot. According to the paper, Nelson had parked his truck across two spaces before the altercation.
Nelson was born in Idaho Falls, nominated by Trump in 2018, and confirmed to the Ninth Circuit that same year. He sits on one of the country’s most prominent federal appeals courts, which handles criminal cases among its heavy docket.
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