Ronald Whyte

Ronald M. Whyte
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Assumed office
March 2, 2009
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
In office
March 2, 1992 – March 2, 2009
Appointed by George H. W. Bush
Preceded by Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089
Succeeded by Lucy H. Koh
Personal details
Born Ronald M. Whyte
(1942-10-25) October 25, 1942
Pomona, California
Education Wesleyan University (A.B.)
USC Gould School of Law (J.D.)

Ronald M. Whyte (born October 25, 1942) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, California.

Education and career

Born in Pomona, California, Whyte earned an Artium Baccalaureus degree in Mathematics from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut in 1964, and a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law in Los Angeles, California in 1967. Whyte was in private practice from 1967 to 1968 in Claremont, California. He then served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1968 to 1971 as part of the Judge Advocate General Corps. He returned to private practice from 1971 to 1989, working at Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel Inc. in San Jose, California. In 1989, Governor George Deukmejian appointed him a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge.[1]

Judicial Service

On July 26, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Whyte to new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 6, 1992, and received his commission on March 2, 1992. He assumed senior status on March 2, 2009.[1] He assumed inactive status on November 1, 2016.[2]

Patent Rules

Judge Whyte originated and led the development of the Northern District of California's Local Patent Rules, which have been adopted by district courts across the country.[2][3][4] Judge Whyte also led the development of model jury instructions - including patent jury instructions - and protective orders.[2] Stanford Law Professor Mark Lemley has also called Judge Whyte "the Dean of the Silicon Valley bench."[2]

Judge Whyte's professional activities include serving on the Dean of Santa Clara Law School’s High Tech Advisory Council (2001–present), the Executive Committee Santa Clara Inn of Court (1992-2013; President 1997-1998), the Patent Rules Committee for the Northern District of California (1996–present); Patent Jury Instruction Committee for the Northern District of California (2000–present); and Member of the National Jury Instruction Project (2008-2009).[2]

Judge Whyte has also sat by designation on panels of both the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has authored published opinions in both courts.[2]

Selected Accolades

  • Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association’s Judge of the Year Award (1992)
  • Berkeley Center for Law and Technology’s Distinguished Service Award (2001)
  • Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association’s Federal Judge of the Year Award (2003)
  • Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association’s Special Recognition Award (2009)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sedona Conference (2013)

References

  1. 1 2 "Whyte, Ronald M. - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Senior Judge Ronald M. Whyte Takes Inactive Status November 1, 2016, https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/news/200
  3. ↑ Dorothy Atkins, Law 360, Judge Whyte Reflects On Career, Patents And Baseball, https://www.law360.com/articles/838618/judge-whyte-reflects-on-career-patents-and-baseball
  4. ↑ Edward Reines, Patently-O Blog, Northern District of California’s New Patent Rules, Feb. 3, 2008, http://patentlyo.com/patent/2008/02/northern-distri.html

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded by
Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089		 Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
1992–2009		 Succeeded by
Lucy H. Koh
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