Joel Carson | |
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| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit | |
| Assumed office May 17, 2018 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Paul Joseph Kelly Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Smith Evans |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joel McElroy Carson III 1971 (age 53–54) Artesia, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Education | Texas Tech University (BBA) University of New Mexico (JD) |
Joel McElroy Carson III (born 1971) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.[1]
Carson graduated fromTexas Tech University in 1994 with aBachelor of Business Administration degree. He then attended theUniversity of New Mexico School of Law, where he was an editor of theNatural Resources Journal. He graduated in 1997 with aJuris Doctor.[2]
After law school, Carson served as alaw clerk to JudgeBobby Baldock of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 1997 to 1999. He then went on to be apartner at theRoswell, New Mexico-based law firm of Hinkle, Hensley, Shanor & Martin, LLP, where he practiced for nine years. He served for five years asGeneral Counsel of Mack Energy Corporation. He started his own law firm in 2014, where he practiced until becoming a Circuit Judge.[3]
Carson served onNew Mexico GovernorSusana Martinez's energy and environment transition teams following her election in 2010. He is a member of the New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission.[4]
Carson served as a part-timeUnited States magistrate judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of New Mexico from 2015 to 2018.[3]
On December 20, 2017, PresidentDonald Trump nominated Carson to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit,[1] to the seat that was vacated by JudgePaul Joseph Kelly Jr., who subsequently assumedsenior status on December 31, 2017.[5] On February 14, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[6] On March 15, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–6 vote.[7] On May 11, 2018, theUnited States Senate invokedcloture on his nomination by a 71–24 vote.[8] On May 15, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 77–21 vote.[9] He received his commission on May 17, 2018.[10] He was sworn in on May 18, 2018.[11]
Writing for the panel inVogt v. Rodebush, Carson recognized that the First Amendment prevents public employers from conditioning employment on political beliefs, affiliation, or non-affiliation. Carson held that the First Amendment enables employees to refuse "a candidate all support, or only some forms of support," because, whether the refusal is "partial or complete," the employee is choosing to exercise her First Amendment right of political affiliation by refusal.[12]
InDoe v. Rocky Mountain Classical Academy, the Defendant suspended and disenrolled the Plaintiff because he wore earrings at school, violating school's dress code which permitted girls (but not boys) to wear earrings. Plaintiff argued that the school violated his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court held that the school did not violate Plaintiff's equal protection rights because the dress code imposed "comparable burdens" on both boys and girls. Carson, writing for a unanimous panel of the Tenth Circuit, reversed, holding that the district court had erred "by applying the comparable burdens test instead of intermediate scrutiny." But Carson noted that the opinion did not "address whether comparable burdens are relevant to a proper intermediate scrutiny analysis."[13]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit 2018–present | Incumbent |