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 The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western ...

Education and military service

He was born in

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

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

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 Cat ...

in 1966. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

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

from

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. Loras offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

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 Sout ...

, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. History The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent la ...

in 1974, with high distinction. During law school, Melloy interned at the

Jo Daviess County, Illinois Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 22,035. Its county seat is Galena, Illinois, Galena. Jo ...

attorney's office. Melloy served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

from 1972 to 1976. He was initially stationed at

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army, U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri The Ozarks, Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of the city of St. Robert, Missouri, St. Robert. The post was created in De ...

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 Thomas Joseph Tauke (born October 11, 1950) is an American politician, lawyer, and corporate executive from Iowa. He is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving six terms from 1979 to 1991. Biography Tauke's undergradu ...

'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 university, private Catholic university in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1843 as St. Mary's Female Academy by Mother Mary Frances Clarke, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin ...

, and the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

Federal judicial service

Melloy a judge of the

United States Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy ...

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 BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

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. Melloy was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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 co ...

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

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to a seat on the

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 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 Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

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 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