Joel McElroy Carson III (born 1971) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a

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 ...

Biography

Carson graduated from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

in 1994 with 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. He then attended the

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1947, it is the first and only law school in the state. ...

, where he was an editor of the ''Natural Resources Journal''. He graduated in 1997 with a Juris Doctor. After law school, Carson served as a law clerk to Judge

Bobby Baldock Bobby Ray Baldock (born January 24, 1936) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was previously a United States district judge of the Uni ...

of the

from 1997 to 1999. He then went on to be a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

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 A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

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 , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , incu ...

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

'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 In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Mexico The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (in case citations, D.N.M.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Mexico. Court is held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Roswell, Santa ...

from 2015 to 2018.

Court of Appeals service

On December 20, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

nominated Carson to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the

, to the seat that was vacated by Judge Paul Joseph Kelly Jr., who 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. On February 14, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. On March 15, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–6 vote. On May 11, 2018, 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 ...

invoked

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ' ...

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