Judge Lawrence VanDyke
Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Lawrence James Christopher VanDyke was born in 1972 in Midland, Texas. He earned an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Montana State University and later earned a Master of Art there. He worked in his family’s construction company and earned a Bachelor of Theology from Bear Valley Bible Institute. He received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. He clerked at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals before entering private practice.
He worked for a period of time as an Assistant Solicitor General of Texas and was the Solicitor General of Montana across a two-year period. He served four years as Solicitor General of Nevada before becoming a deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division.
VanDyke was nominated for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by President Donald Trump. After a cloture vote, his nomination was confirmed by a 51-44 vote of the Senate and he received his commission in January 2020.
In the News…
Two California counties were found to have violated the Constitution’s Second Amendment when gun and ammunition stores were deemed nonessential and ordered to be shut down in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the right to bear arms made gun and ammunition stores essential.
In the decision, Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote, “The Second Amendment means nothing if the government can prohibit all persons from acquiring any firearm or ammunition. But that’s what happened in this case.”
The ruling overturns lower court decisions in separate cases against Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge VanDyke today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Lawrence VanDyke
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Bruce R. Thompson U.S. Courthouse
400 South Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89501
