Today marks the remarkable 50th anniversary of federal judicial service for Ninth Circuit judge J. Clifford Wallace, for whom I had the great privilege of clerking at the outset of my legal career and who has been generous to me throughout. President Nixon appointed Judge Wallace to a district judgeship on this date in 1970 and elevated him to the Ninth Circuit in 1972. Wallace served as chief judge of the Ninth Circuit from 1991 to 1996.
Judge Wallace has always been a model to me of what a judge should be: dispassionate, impartial, dedicated to getting every case right, committed to the rule of law. He has also been tireless in working to promote sound practices of judicial administration in countries around the world.
Today is also the 50th anniversary of federal judicial service for two other judges, both of the Eleventh Circuit: Gerald Tjoflat (who until taking senior status last year was the longest-serving federal appellate judge in active status) and Peter Fay. Congratulations to them as well.