Paez began his career as a staff attorney for California Rural Legal Assistance, from 1972 to 1974, then as a staff attorney for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, from 1974 to 1976. He joined the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles in 1976 as senior counsel, was director of litigation from 1978 to 1979 and deputy director for litigation, from 1979 to 1980, then was acting executive director and director of litigation, from 1980 to 1981. Paez then became a Judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1981 to 1994.
Federal judicial service
Following his March 9, 1994, nomination by President Bill Clinton, confirmation by the United States Senate on June 15, 1994, and reception of commission on June 16, 1994, Paez became the second Mexican American to sit on the bench of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, a district that covers Los Angeles. Paez was confirmed by Senate on March 9, 2000, by a 59-39 vote, more than four years after President Clinton first nominated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Paez waited 1,506 days to be confirmed, which at that time was the longest wait for a vote by any judicial nominee in U.S. history. The campaign against Paez's confirmation was led by Senators Robert C. Smith of New Hampshire and Jeff Sessions of Alabama over assertions that Paez and other 9th Circuit judges were too liberal. Then Vice President Al Gore interrupted his campaign to fly back to Washington to preside over the confirmation vote.
Notable cases
On August 6, 2004, Paez ruled that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's internet broadcasting of pretrial detainees violated the 14th amendment. He wrote: "We fail to see how turning pretrial detainees into the unwilling objects of the latest reality show serves any... legitimate goals... Inmates are not like animals in a zoo to be filmed and photographed at will..." In a 2009 decision, he held that a San Francisco resolution urging the Vatican to withdraw a directive against same-sex adoptions does not violate the Establishment Clause. In a 2011 decision, he issued the majority opinion upholding a lower court's blocking of the most controversial parts of the Arizona SB 1070 anti-illegal immigration law from taking effect. On May 3, 2019, Paez concurred when the 9th circuit en banc decided that a 14 year old illegal immigrant would receive due process, temporarily halting his deportation to Honduras. However, Paez went further than the majority. Paez would rule that the 5th Amendment guarantees the right to due process for illegal immigrant minors, something that the majority did not touch base on, implying that the 5th Amendment did not grant such a right to illegal immigrant minors. Paez' concurrence was joined by Marsha S. Berzon and William A. Fletcher. On February 24, 2020, Paez strongly dissented when the 9th circuit upheld Trump's Global Gag Rule by a vote of 7 to 4. Paez's dissent was joined by Chief Judge Thomas, Judges Wardlaw and Fletcher. Paez also claimed that the majority was kowtowing towards the Trump administration, and he called the decision "paternalistic" and partisan. PAEZ, dissenting: "The majority is correct that we give agencies deference—but only insofar as the agency “examine the relevant data and articulate a satisfactory explanation for its action including a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made.” State Farm Mut., 463 U.S. at 43. The majority fails to hold HHS to that basic standard here. In vacating the preliminary injunctions, the majority blesses an executive agency’s disregard of the clear limits placed on it by Congress. The consequences will be borne by the millions of women who turn to Title X-funded clinics for lifesaving care and the very contraceptive services that have caused rates of unintended pregnancy—and abortion—to plummet. I strongly dissent."
Personal life
He is married to Diane Erickson, with whom he shares a daughter and a son.
