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.

Biography

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 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 ...

. After law school, Carson served 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 ...

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 Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

-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."President Donald J. Trump Announces Ninth Wave of Judicial Nominees and Tenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees" White House, December 20, 2017
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.

Federal judicial service

Magistrate judge tenure

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.

Court of Appeals service

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, to the seat that was vacated by Judge Paul Joseph Kelly Jr., who assumed senior status on December 31, 2017. On February 14, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On March 15, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–6 vote. On May 11, 2018, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 71–24 vote. On May 15, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 77–21 vote. He received his commission on May 17, 2018. He was sworn in on May 18, 2018.

Notable cases

First Amendment

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.

References

External links

* *
Biography at Carson Ryan LLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Joel M. III 1971 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit New Mexico lawyers People from Artesia, New Mexico Texas Tech University alumni United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump United States magistrate judges University of New Mexico School of Law alumni