Sally M. Rider, Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Civil Division, Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, has been selected by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist as his new Administrative Assistant. Rider, 43, is the first woman to be appointed to the position which was created by statute in 1972. She will begin her two-year appointment at the Supreme Court on August 14, 2000. She succeeds James C. Duff who is returning to the private practice of law in Washington, D.C.

The Administrative Assistant serves as the Court's chief of staff and aids the Chief Justice in his overall management of the Court, provides research in support of the Chief Justice's public addresses and statements, and monitors developments in the field of judicial administration and court reform. She also assists the Chief Justice with his other statutory responsibilities as head of the Third Branch of government. These include the Chief Justice's role as chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States, chairman of the board of the Federal Judicial Center, and chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution.

Rider began her legal career as staff counsel for the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs from 1986 to 1987. From 1987 to 1990, she was a trial attorney with the Torts Branch, Civil Division of the Department of Justice. She was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1990 to 1995. Rider joined the legal staff in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Department of State in 1995. In 1998, she was invited to return as Deputy Chief of the Civil Division of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. She received a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Arizona, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1980. She received her law degree with high distinction in 1986 from the University of Arizona College of Law.

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Last Updated: July 31, 2000
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