Paul Joseph Kelly Jr. (born 1940) is a senior

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distr ...

. His chambers are in Santa Fe,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Education and career

Born in Freeport, New York, Kelly received a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in 1963 and a Juris Doctor from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test t ...

in 1967. Kelly began his career at the law firm Cravath, Swaine, and Moore in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was then in private practice with the firm Hinkle, Bondurant, Cox & Eaton in Roswell and Santa Fe,

from 1967 to 1992. Kelly was a highly successful jury trial attorney. Upon returning to his office after each successful trial result, his staff would inquire about the result and Kelly's response was always, "Does a cat have a tail?" Kelly approached his practice in a relentless fashion, insisting that every angle of a case be investigated. He always enjoyed teaching young lawyers. He was a New Mexico state representative from 1977 to 1981.

Federal judicial service

On November 19, 1991, Kelly was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a new seat on the

created by 104 Stat. 5089. He 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 April 8, 1992, and received his commission on April 13, 1992. He assumed

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

on December 31, 2017.

Honors and other interests

In October 2008, Judge Kelly was honored in the Great Hall of the

United States Supreme Court Building The Supreme Court Building houses the Supreme Court of the United States. Also referred to as "The Marble Palace," the building serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of th ...

with the Professionalism Award of the American Inns of Court for the Tenth Circuit. Kelly still works as a volunteer fire and emergency service volunteer. He is also an avid golfer and skier.

Judicial philosophy

A law review article entitled "Who Would Win a Tournament of Judges" lists Kelly as one of the most commonly cited appellate judges currently serving. Only Judge Posner and Judge Easterbrook consistently bested Kelly. Kelly stated in an Above the Law article that he has no set judicial philosophy—he has decisions landing on both sides of the spectrum.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Paul Joseph Jr. 1940 births 20th-century American judges Fordham University School of Law alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Living people Members of the New Mexico House of Representatives People from Freeport, New York United States court of appeals judges appointed by George H. W. Bush University of Notre Dame alumni