Federal court officials say a senior judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has died after an illness. Judge David R. Thompson was 80.

Officials say Thompson, of San Diego, died Saturday in San Francisco, where he was in town to hear oral arguments in several cases.

He was nominated to the appeals court by President Ronald Reagan and was appointed in December 1985. The court says he ranked 19th in seniority among its 48 active and senior judges.

Before he became a judge, Thompson's private law practice was in business litigation and general trials. He also served for three years on a committee that advises the judiciary's national governing body.