Judge David Campbell

2021 American Inns of Court Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA–Judge David Campbell has been selected to receive the prestigious 2021 American Inns of Court Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics, which recognizes attorneys, judges, government officials, journalists, or others who have rendered exemplary service in the areas of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence. Campbell will receive the award at the annual Celebration of Excellence held at the Supreme Court of the United States on April 2, 2022, which has been postponed due to the pandemic.

Nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003, Campbell is a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and assumed senior status in 2018. “He has earned a reputation as an indefatigable trial judge, running a doggedly organized and efficient courtroom,” says Jeffrey P. Minear, Esquire, counselor to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who wrote in support of Campbell’s nomination. “And he is an invaluable contributor to judicial administration….”

When COVID-19 struck, Campbell was tasked with drafting and shepherding crucial measures through the legislative process, allowing the federal courts to continue essential operations despite the pandemic. From 2015–2019, Campbell chaired the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, which oversees the work of five advisory committees focused on civil, criminal, bankruptcy, appellate, and evidence rules at the federal level. From 2011–2015, he chaired the Judicial Conference of the United States Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, which drafted significant changes to rules that affect both federal courts and many state courts.

Serving as an ambassador of the American judicial system, Campbell has provided guidance to judiciaries in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. More recently, he has consulted with the judiciaries of Sri Lanka and Turkey on judicial procedures and case management. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. recently appointed Campbell to the Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations.

Campbell has also served as president of the Sandra Day O’Connor American Inn of Court in Arizona.

Previously, Campbell was a law clerk to Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States and to Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also served in private practice. Campbell earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 1976 and his law degree from the University of Utah College of Law—now the S.J. Quinney College of Law—in 1979.