A federal appeals court unanimously ruled on Monday that Nevada’s acting U.S. attorney, Sigal Chattah, is serving in the position unlawfully.
Judges previously ruled in September that the state’s top federal prosecutor was serving in her position illegally after her interim term expired. The Trump administration appealed the ruling, but to no avail, as the latest court ruling determined.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Chattah is violating federal law by remaining in the office, but it upheld a lower court ruling that allows her to stay in the position pending a possible appeal to the Supreme Court. For now, the ruling bars Chattah from supervising or participating in three federal criminal cases.
“These cases present the question whether the Attorney General can make someone an Acting United States Attorney—bypassing the usual requirement that a U.S. Attorney be confirmed by the Senate—by designating that person as the first assistant to an already-vacant office of U.S. Attorney,” the three-judge panel wrote. “We hold that the Attorney General cannot do so.”
Chattah was first appointed by President Donald Trump in a 180-day interim capacity on April 1, 2025. She has been continuing to serve in the role while Las Vegas lawyer George Kelesis goes through the Senate confirmation process to assume the position on a permanent basis. That process remains ongoing.
While Kelesis remained in limbo, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi sought to keep Chattah in the interim role by appointing her as first assistant U.S. attorney, which she said allowed the lawyer to serve as acting U.S. attorney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act for 210 days, shortly before her interim period expired.
That sparked a lawsuit from the Nevada federal public defender’s office arguing that the Trump administration’s move violated the law. Arizona District Judge David G. Campbell in September ruled that Chattah’s continued appointment as acting U.S. attorney violated a federal statute stating that if a permanent U.S. attorney is not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, judges of the Nevada District Court can appoint an interim U.S. attorney until the vacancy is filled.
The appeals court agreed, writing Monday that Chattah’s latest appointment violated federal law on filling government vacancies. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act provision that the DOJ relied on, a first assistant could automatically become acting U.S. attorney only if that person held the first-assistant position when the vacancy occurred, the court ruled.
“The Attorney General [can’t] create a de facto Acting U.S. Attorney by delegating all of the functions and duties of the U.S. Attorney to someone else,” wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Eric Miller, a Trump appointee.
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Democrats celebrated the ruling.
“Sigal Chattah has always been unfit to serve as Nevada’s U.S. Attorney, and I’m glad to see the Ninth Circuit agree her appointment is illegal,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) said in a post to X. “It’s past time for her to vacate the position and leave the U.S. Attorney’s office once and for all.”