A Federal Judge in a Parking Lot Tantrum

Judge Ryan Douglas Nelson — a sitting judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — was charged in April with misdemeanor battery and malicious injury to property after a parking space dispute in Idaho Falls, Idaho escalated.

Nelson himself admitted to the core conduct.

What Actually Happened

According to reporting by the Idaho State Journal, the alleged victim pulled into a parking lot and found Nelson's truck angled across multiple spaces — blocking three spots at once. When Nelson started his truck to leave, the victim said, "I say 'learn how to park.' I said it twice. That's when he went crazy."

What happened next is not disputed — Nelson confirmed it himself.

According to a police affidavit cited by the Idaho State Journal, when officers spoke with Nelson, "he admitted to knocking his glasses from [the alleged victim's] head but stated he did not touch him. He also admitted to stomping on his glasses."

A federal appellate judge admits to swiping glasses off a stranger's face and then stomping on them in an asphalt parking lot over a parking space.

The ABA Journal reported on June 5, 2026 that charges were filed in Bonneville County, Idaho Magistrate Court, confirmed by a 9th Circuit spokesperson. Surveillance video of the confrontation exists and was included in Idaho State Journal coverage.

The Legal Position

Nelson pleaded not guilty in May, according to court records cited by the ABA Journal. His listed defense counsel, Curtis Smith, did not respond to ABA Journal requests for comment. Nelson also did not respond to interview requests.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 18. The case also includes a no-contact order against Nelson.

Nelson was appointed to the 9th Circuit in 2018, according to the Federal Judicial Center. Before that, he served as special counsel with the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and as general counsel for Melaleuca, an Idaho-based consumer products company.

What Gets Overlooked

Most coverage has treated this as a curiosity — a strange story. Several factors deserve closer examination.

First, the admission. This isn't an allegation pending facts. Nelson told police he knocked the glasses off and stomped on them. That's not competing accounts. That's the defendant's own statement. The not-guilty plea is a legal maneuver, not a denial of what happened.

Second, judicial conduct standards. Federal judges hold lifetime appointments and are expected to uphold the rule of law. Losing your temper in a parking lot and physically attacking a stranger over criticism of your parking raises a serious character question. This man decides appeals that affect millions of Americans. If he snaps at "learn how to park," what standard is he applying when annoyed on the bench?

Third, the 9th Circuit angle receives light treatment. The 9th Circuit is already the most-reversed appellate court in the country when it reaches the Supreme Court. It's also been at the center of virtually every major legal battle over federal executive power for the last decade. The court doesn't need more reputation problems.

Fourth, no arrest. The Volokh Conspiracy at Reason initially reported Nelson was arrested — they corrected it. He was charged without being arrested. That's a notable distinction worth examining.

Different Treatment

If a regular Idaho resident admitted to knocking someone's glasses off their face and stomping on them, they would likely be arrested immediately. Charged the same day. The difference here is the defendant sits on a federal court.

The charges are misdemeanors, which matters legally. But it doesn't erase the admission. And it doesn't explain why months passed between the April incident and the wider public finding out about it.

June 18

The man in the parking lot said "learn how to park" and ended up with a no-contact order protecting him from a federal judge.

The justice system operates on the premise that nobody is above the law. Federal judges lecture defendants about accountability and consequences every single week. Judge Ryan Nelson has his own day in court — June 18 — to face what those words mean when applied to him.