Pamela Ann Rymer

Who was Pamela Ann Rymer?

Pamela Ann Rymer was a United States federal judge.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Rymer earned an A.B. from Vassar College in 1961 and an LL.B. from Stanford Law School in 1964. She was Director of Political Research and Analysis for the Goldwater for President Committee in 1964. From 1965 to 1966, she was vice president of Rus Walton and Associates in Los Altos, California. Rymer then entered private practice from 1966 through 1983 in Los Angeles, California. She was also a member and chairman of the California Post-Secondary Education Commission from 1974 to 1984.

On January 31, 1983, Rymer was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Central District of California vacated by William P. Gray. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 23, 1983, and received her commission the following day. In 1987, Reagan attempted to elevate Rymer to the seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by the elevation of Anthony Mcleod Kennedy to the Supreme Court of the United States, but was rebuffed in the Senate. However, on February 28, 1989, President George H.W. Bush nominated Rymer to the same seat, and this time, she was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 18, 1989, receiving her commission on May 22, 1989.