A three-judge panel for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that Sigal Chattah is disqualified from serving as the acting U.S. attorney for Nevada. The court determined that the Department of Justice (DOJ) used unlawful methods to maintain Chattah in the position without obtaining Senate confirmation. The 36-page opinion affirms that Chattah cannot supervise criminal prosecutions for a group of defendants who challenged her authority.
The legal dispute centered on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which dictates how leadership vacancies in federal agencies are filled. The law generally allows the "first assistant" to a Senate-confirmed officer to assume an acting role automatically when a vacancy occurs. Chattah, a former Nevada chair for the Republican National Committee, took over as interim U.S. attorney in April 2025. Her initial 120-day term was set to expire when then-Attorney General Pam Bondi utilized specific legal maneuvers to allow Chattah to remain in an acting capacity for a longer period.
The appeals court rejected the administration's interpretation of the vacancy rules. Judge Eric Miller wrote that the automatic succession rule only applies if the first assistant was already serving in that position when the vacancy first arose. The court found that because Chattah did not serve under a validly appointed official before the vacancy, her elevation was invalid. The ruling also stated that the Attorney General cannot create a "de facto" acting official by delegating all duties of the office to an unconfirmed individual.
The scale of the impact involves the disqualification of a top official who served as interim U.S. attorney from April 2025 through at least late September 2025, when a lower court first intervened. While the exact number of cases affected was not reported, the ruling directly prevents Chattah from participating in the specific criminal prosecutions brought by the defendants who filed the challenge. For residents and legal professionals in Nevada, the ruling means that any official exercising the powers of the U.S. Attorney must strictly adhere to the chronological requirements of the 1998 Act or face removal by the courts.
This case sets a legal precedent that may limit how the executive branch fills vacancies in the 94 U.S. attorney offices across the country. A similar appointment involving Alina Habba in New Jersey was invalidated in December, suggesting a broader judicial trend regarding these specific DOJ tactics. The Justice Department has not yet commented on whether it will appeal this decision to the full 9th Circuit or the Supreme Court. For now, the disqualification remains in effect, and the DOJ must identify a different official to lead the Nevada office in compliance with federal law.