New Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge goes to work

The first black woman to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals went to work on Wednesday.

President Clinton signed a commission on Wednesday for the appointment of U. S. District Judge Johnnie Rawlinson to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Judge Rawlinson is the 82nd judge appointed to the court, succeeding to the position created when Circuit Judge Melvin Brunetti took senior status on Nov. 11.

Rawlinson will maintain her chambers in Las Vegas.

In addition to her longstanding membership in the National Bar Association, Rawlinson is a member of the Clark County Bar Association, the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys, the State Bar of Nevada, and the Just the Beginning Foundation, an organization that documents the achievements of African American judges on the federal bench.