Nancy Louise Moritz (born March 3, 1960) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and former

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

on the Kansas Supreme Court.

Biography

Moritz (formerly Caplinger) was born in Beloit,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

. She grew up in Tipton, Kansas, before her family moved to Salina, Kansas, when Moritz was 15 years old. She graduated valedictorian of her class from Sacred Heart High School in Salina. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Washburn University in 1982 and her

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

Washburn Law School The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of t ...

in 1985. She has two daughters.

Legal career

Moritz began her legal career in 1985 as a research attorney for Justice

Harold S. Herd Harold Shields Herd (June 3, 1918 – April 23, 2007) was a Kansas Supreme Court justice (1979–1993), minority leader in the Kansas State Senate (1969–1973), mayor of Coldwater, Kansas (1950–1954) and an officer in the U.S. Navy during ...

of the Kansas Supreme Court. In 1987, she became 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

Patrick F. Kelly Patrick F. Kelly (June 25, 1929 – November 16, 2007) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Education and career Born in Wichita, Kansas, Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts degree fr ...

with the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. From 1989 to 1995, she was an associate with the law firm Spencer, Fane, Britt and Browne in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. She then became an Assistant United States Attorney in Kansas City until 1999, when she became an Appellate Coordinator for the United States Attorney's office. She held this position until her appointment to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 2004.

Kansas Governor The governor of Kansas is the head of state of KansasKS Const. art. I, § 3. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Kan ...

Mark Parkinson appointed her to the Kansas Supreme Court in November 2010, and she was sworn in on January 7, 2011, replacing former Chief Justice Robert E. Davis, serving until July 29, 2014.

Federal judicial service

In August 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

tapped Moritz for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. On April 29, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on Moritz's nomination On Thursday May 1, 2014, the Senate voted 60–38 to invoke cloture on her nomination. On Monday, May 5, 2014, the Senate voted 90–3 to confirm her nomination. She received her commission on July 29, 2014.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moritz, Nancy 1960 births Living people 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Kansas Court of Appeals Judges People from Beloit, Kansas People from Mitchell County, Kansas United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama Washburn University alumni Washburn University School of Law alumni