On June 19, 2006, the United States Senate voted to confirm President Bush’s nomination of Sandra Segal Ikuta, as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She was sworn into office by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on July 9th. She filled a judgeship vacant since September 1, 2000, when Chief Judge Emeritus James R. Browning took senior status.

Before becoming a U.S. Circuit Judge, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to be deputy secretary and general counsel of the California Resources Agency in January 2004. The agency is responsible for environmental protection and management of the state's natural, historical and cultural resources, including water, forests, fish and game, state parks and waterways.

Prior to her political appointment, Judge Ikuta was a partner at the Los Angeles office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. She joined the law firm in 1990 as an associate and became a partner in 1997. She specialized in environmental and natural resources law and co-chaired the firm's environmental practice group. She previously served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, 1989-90, and Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1988-89.

Judge Ikuta received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law in 1988, and a Master of Science from Columbia University School of Journalism in 1978. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1976.