Margaret A. Ryan

Margaret Ann "Meg" Ryan (born May 23, 1964) is a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. She joined the court in 2006 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. Her term expired on July 31, 2020.

Early life and education Born in Chicago, Ryan attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School, and graduated from Knox College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1985. As a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer, Ryan served as a Trial Counsel and Chief Trial Counsel in Okinawa, Japan and Quantico, Virginia. Ryan was then selected by General Charles C. Krulak, Commandant of the Marine Corps, to serve as his Aide de Camp.

Ryan was law clerk to Judge J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and then to Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court for the 2001–2002 term.

Prior to joining the court, Ryan was in private practice. She was at Wiley Rein LLP from 2004 until her appointment to the court. Before that she was with Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott from 2002 to 2004 and Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal from 1999 to 2000.

Judge Ryan is currently a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and an elected member of the American Law Institute. She previously served as the J.J. Clynes Endowed Visiting Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, where she taught Evidence, Military Law, and Constitutional Issues in the Military Justice System.

In 2012, Judge Ryan joined the court majority that found that it did not have jurisdiction to order disclosure of trial documents from the Chelsea Manning court-martial. When the court majority reversed the conviction of a soldier for attempting suicide, Judge Ryan dissented, arguing that the appeals court did not have jurisdiction.

In September 2016, Ryan was named as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Personal life

Ryan is married to Michael J. Collins.