Michael Joseph Melloy (born January 15, 1948) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Education and military service

He was born in

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and graduated from

Wahlert High School Wahlert Catholic High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in Dubuque, Iowa, United States, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque. History During a meeting on June 17, 1955, Archbishop Leo Binz and the pastors of the Dubuque Cath ...

in 1966. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from Loras College in 1970,

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

, and 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 ...

from University of Iowa College of Law in 1974, with high distinction. During law school, Melloy interned at the Jo Daviess County, Illinois attorney's office. Melloy served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1970 to 1972, and in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

from 1972 to 1976. He was initially stationed at Fort Leonard Wood.

Career

Melloy practiced primarily civil litigation and also administrative law, real estate, bankruptcy, and tax as an associate and then as a partner at O’Connor & Thomas in Dubuque from 1974 until 1986. He also regularly co-chaired Tom Tauke's congressional campaigns and served in various capacities for Catholic organizations, including the Dubuque Catholic Metropolitan School Board,

Clarke University Clarke University is a private Roman Catholic university in Dubuque, Iowa. The campus is on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and downtown Dubuque. Clarke offers a broad undergraduate curriculum in 19 academic departments with over 40 ma ...

, and the Knights of Columbus.

Federal judicial service

Melloy a judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa from 1986 to 1992. On April 9, 1992, Melloy was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

to a seat on the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (in case citations, N.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over fifty-two of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims and ...

vacated by Judge

David R. Hansen David Rasmussen Hansen (born March 16, 1938) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern Dis ...

. Melloy was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on August 12, 1992, and received his commission on August 17, 1992. He served as chief judge from 1992 to 1999. He was also chair of the bankruptcy committee of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

. On September 4, 2001, Melloy was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge

George Gardner Fagg George Gardner Fagg (April 30, 1934 – July 14, 2015) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Education and career Born in Eldora, Iowa, Fagg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Drake ...

. Melloy was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 11, 2002, by a 91–0 vote. He received his commission on February 14, 2002. Melloy took

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on February 1, 2013. On April 2, 2018, the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

appointed Melloy as Special Master in the case of ''Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado''.https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/040218zor_p8k0.pdf

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melloy, Michael Joseph 1948 births Living people 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Catholics from Iowa Iowa lawyers Iowa state court judges Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa Loras College alumni People from Dubuque, Iowa United States Army reservists United States Army soldiers United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush University of Iowa College of Law alumni