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Jerome A. Holmes (born November 18, 1961) is an American lawyer serving as the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He is the first African American to serve on the Tenth Circuit.


Early life and education

Holmes graduated from Wake Forest University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then attended the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor of the ''Georgetown Immigration Law Journal''. He graduated with a
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 1988. Later in his career, Holmes studied at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, receiving a
Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...
in 2000.


Legal career

Holmes began his legal career as a
law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
for judge Wayne Alley of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (in case citations, W.D. Okla. or W.D. Ok.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which ...
from 1988 to 1990. Holmes then clerked for judge
William Judson Holloway, Jr. William Judson Holloway Jr. (June 23, 1923 – April 25, 2014) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Education and career Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, Holloway graduated from Classen High Sch ...
of the Tenth Circuit from 1990 to 1991. After his clerkships, Holmes entered private practice with the law firm Steptoe & Johnson in its Washington, D.C. office. He practiced at the firm as an associate for three years before he returned to Oklahoma to serve as an
assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
for the Western District of Oklahoma. Holmes served in that capacity from 1994 to 2005. Holmes re-entered private practice in 2005 as a Director of the Oklahoma firm Crowe & Dunlevy, where his practice was focused on white collar criminal defense, complex civil litigation, and corporate law.


Federal judicial service

Holmes was initially nominated for a federal judgeship in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, having been chosen from group of finalists that included Tulsa attorneys Lane Wilson and
John M. O'Connor John Michael O'Connor (born December 5, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 19th attorney general of Oklahoma between 2021 and 2023. O’Connor was previously a shareholder of Hall Estill and a nominee to be a United ...
(Wilson would later serve as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District before leaving to become General Counsel at the Williams Companies). While his nomination for a United States District Court seat was pending, Holmes was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 4, 2006, to fill a seat vacated by Judge
Stephanie Kulp Seymour Stephanie Kulp Seymour (born October 16, 1940) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She was the first female federal court judge in Oklahoma. Background and Career Seymour was bor ...
. Bush's previous pick to replace Judge Seymour, United States District Judge
James H. Payne James Hardy Payne (born 1941 in Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock, Texas) is an inactive Senior status, Senior United States federal judge, United States District Judge in Oklahoma, sitting simultaneously on the federal courts for the United States District ...
, withdrew over criticism of his handling of cases in which he allegedly had a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination less than three months later on July 26, 2006, by a 67–30 vote. He received his commission on August 9, 2006. He became the chief judge on October 1, 2022.


Notable cases

*Holmes' first published opinion for the court
''United States v. Ahidley''
was released on May 25, 2007. Holmes wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel holding that a criminal defendant was improperly ordered to pay immediate restitution to the victim of his crime. *Holmes was on the first federal appellate court panel to weigh affirmatively on the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry. He penned an important concurrence on the role of animus in the ban of same-sex marriage in Oklahoma. *In 2017, Holmes found that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act did not permit the United States Department of the Interior to force a state to participate in mediation with a tribe after the state had asserted its sovereign immunity.


See also

* List of African-American jurists


References


External links

*
Blawg Search - Judge Jerome A. Holmes
* ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/07/30/same-sex-marriage-and-animus/ "Same-sex marriage and animus" by Prof. Dale Carpenter - Washington Post - July 30, 2014br>"Holmes' nomination confirmed," ''Tulsa World'', July 27, 2006Report on Holmes by Alliance for Justice
* ttp://abovethelaw.com/jerome-holmes/ Above The Law - Yo Holmes! The Tenth Circuit's Newest Member - July 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Jerome A. 1961 births Living people 21st-century American judges African-American judges Assistant United States Attorneys Georgetown University Law Center alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush Wake Forest University alumni