From 2010 to 2012, Bumatay was in private practice as an associate at the New York City law firm Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello. From 2012 until his judicial appointment in 2018, Bumatay was a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of California in the San Diego office, where he was a member of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces Section.[4]
He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2003, the Federal Bar Association (San Diego chapter) since 2016, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association in 2015 and again since 2018, the National Filipino American Lawyers Association from 2017 to 2018, and the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association since 2017.[5]
Federal judicial service
Court of appeals
On October 10, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Bumatay to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[4] Both Senators from California, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, announced their opposition to his nomination, saying they had not included Bumatay's name among those they recommended for the Ninth Circuit.[6][7][8] On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Bumatay to the seat vacated by Judge Alex Kozinski, who retired on December 18, 2017.[9]
On September 20, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to again nominate Bumatay.[10][11] On October 15, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. Bumatay was nominated to the seat being vacated by Judge Carlos Bea, who previously announced his intention to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor.[12] On October 30, 2019, a hearing on Bumatay's nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[13] On November 21, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[14] On December 9, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture by a 47–41 vote.[15] On December 10, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 53–40 vote.[16] He received his judicial commission on December 12, 2019.[17] Bumatay is the first Filipino American to serve as an Article III federal appellate judge and the first openly gay judge on the Ninth Circuit.[18]
Notable cases
In February 2020, Bumatay dissented from a denial of rehearing en banc in which a three-judge panel ruled that the denial of sex-reassignment surgery to an Idaho prisoner violated the Eighth Amendment. In his dissent, Bumatay argued that "the panel's decision elevates innovative and evolving medical standards to be the constitutional threshold for prison medical care. In doing so, the panel minimizes the standard for establishing a violation of the Eighth Amendment."[19]
In September 2020, Bumatay dissented from a denial of rehearing en banc where a three-judge panel upheld the federal firearm ban statute for persons committed to a mental institution. Bumatay argued the panel ignored the history and tradition of the Second Amendment and improperly applied an intermediate scrutiny standard as standard of review.[20]
On January 30, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Bumatay to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.[23] On February 6, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Marilyn L. Huff, who assumed senior status on September 30, 2016.[24] His nomination was withdrawn on October 15, 2019, when he was once again nominated to a seat on the Ninth Circuit.[12]
Personal life
Bumatay is a Filipino American and openly gay.[25]
