Hon. Melvin Brunetti

Melvin Theodore Brunetti was born in Reno and graduated from Sparks High School, later serving as a sergeant in the Nevada National Guard. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno and earned his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1964, then practiced law in Reno for two decades.

Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, he was confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in April 1985 and served nearly a quarter century on the court, taking senior status in 1999. He died in Reno in 2009.