Norris was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on February 27, 1980, to a seat vacated by Walter Raleigh Ely, Jr.
Born in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, Norris served in the United States Navy from 1945 to 1947.
He served as a law clerk for Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1955 to 1956.
[3] Norris was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on February 27, 1980, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge Walter Raleigh Ely Jr.
Judge Norris' view in that case, that sexual orientation is a suspect classification deserving of heightened scrutiny under the Constitution's Equal Protection clause, did not carry the day, but it has proven influential in many state court and lower federal court opinions striking down bans on gay marriage in the 2000s and 2010s.