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Joel M. Carson III

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Joel M. Carson III
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Assumed office
May 17, 2018
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byPaul Joseph Kelly Jr.
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
In office
August 14, 2015 – May 17, 2018
Succeeded byBarbara Smith Evans
Personal details
Born
Joel McElroy Carson III

1971 (age 52–53)
Artesia, New Mexico, U.S.
EducationTexas Tech University (BBA)
University of New Mexico (JD)

Joel McElroy Carson III (born 1971) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.[1]

Biography

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Carson graduated from Texas Tech University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He then attended the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he was an editor of the Natural Resources Journal. He graduated in 1997 with a Juris Doctor.[2]

After law school, Carson served as a law clerk to Judge Bobby Baldock of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 1997 to 1999. He then went on to be a partner at the Roswell, New Mexico-based law firm of Hinkle, Hensley, Shanor & Martin, LLP, where he practiced for nine years. He served for five years as General Counsel of Mack Energy Corporation. He started his own law firm in 2014, where he practiced until becoming a Circuit Judge.[3]

Carson served on New Mexico Governor Susana 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]

Federal judicial service

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Magistrate judge tenure

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Carson served as a part-time United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico from 2015 to 2018.[3]

Court of Appeals service

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On December 20, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Carson to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit,[1] to the seat that was vacated by Judge Paul Joseph Kelly Jr., who subsequently assumed senior status on December 31, 2017.[5] On February 14, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[6] On March 15, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–6 vote.[7] On May 11, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture 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]

Notable cases

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First Amendment

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Writing for the panel in Vogt 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]

Fourteenth Amendment

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In Doe 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]

References

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  1. ^ a b "PN1330 — Joel M. Carson III — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  2. ^ "SJC Questionnaire" (PDF). Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Ninth Wave of Judicial Nominees and Tenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees" White House, December 20, 2017 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Carson III nominated by president for U.S. Court of Appeals". Artesia Daily Press. December 21, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "Eight Nominations Sent to the Senate Today" White House, December 20, 2017
  6. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for February 14, 2018
  7. ^ Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 15, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee
  8. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Joel M. Carson III to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit)". United States Senate. May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  9. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Joel M. Carson III, of New Mexico, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit)". United States Senate. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  10. ^ Joel M. Carson III at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  11. ^ "Honorable Joel M. Carson Joins the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals". United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  12. ^ United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (April 15, 2024). "Vogt v. Rodebush" (PDF).
  13. ^ United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (April 30, 2024). "Doe v. Rocky Mountain Classical Academy" (PDF).
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Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
2018–present
Incumbent