Susan Laura Carney (born September 16, 1951) is an American lawyer who serves as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

Early life and education

She was born in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

to Cleo Olgas and John R. Carney Jr. Her father was a partner at the Boston law firm Young & Carney. She earned 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 from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

, ''cum laude'', in 1973 in Russian History and Literature, 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

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, ''magna cum laude'', in 1977. After graduating from law school, Carney worked as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge Levin H. Campbell of the

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts ...

.President Obama Names Susan L. Carney to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
, ''

whitehouse.gov whitehouse.gov or wh.gov is the official website of the White House and is managed by the Office of Digital Strategy of the White House Office under the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It was launched in 1994 by the ...

'' (May 20, 2010).

Professional career

From 1979 until 1986, Carney was an attorney at Rogovin, Huge & Lenzner in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, first as an associate and later as a partner. She worked on litigation in federal courts and provided business counsel, primarily for large nonprofit organizations. In 1986, Carney joined two other Rogovin partners to form the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles-based firm of Tuttle & Taylor. She was subsequently Of Counsel to the D.C. labor law firm of Bredhoff & Kaiser, where she engaged in an appellate practice. From 1996 to 1998, Carney served as Associate General Counsel of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

. Carney moved from Washington to Connecticut in 1998, and at that point joined

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in the school's general counsel's office. In 2001, she became Yale's Deputy General Counsel. In this capacity, she was the second-ranking legal officer of a leading educational and research institution with an annual budget of more than $2 billion. Her work for Yale addressed many areas covered by federal law, including scientific research, intellectual property, and health care. Her practice also focused on Yale's international affiliations and transactions. She served as Yale's Acting General Counsel from July to December 2008. Carney is a member of the Connecticut, District of Columbia, and Massachusetts bars and served on the board of directors of the National Association of college & University Attorneys.

Federal judicial service

On May 20, 2010, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated Carney to the seat on the

that was vacated by Judge Barrington D. Parker Jr., who assumed senior status in October 2009. In announcing the nomination, President Obama stated, “At every step of her career, Susan Carney has performed with excellence and unwavering integrity. I am confident she will serve the people of Connecticut with distinction on the Circuit Court bench." On May 17, 2011, 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 ...

confirmed Carney's nomination by a 71–28 vote. She received her commission on May 17, 2011. She entered duty as a Circuit Judge on June 21, 2011. On November 5, 2021, Carney announced that she would assume senior status upon the confirmation of her successor. She assumed senior status on September 27, 2022. In May 2024, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled unanimously in the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

case of National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, favoring the NRA's case against New York insurance regulator Maria Vullo. The court overturned the decision of Carney and her two fellow Second Circuit jurists,

Denny Chin Denny Chin (Chinese: 陳卓光; born April 13, 1954) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York City. He was a United States District Judge of the United States Distri ...

and Rosemary Pooler.

Personal life

Carney married journalist Lincoln W. Caplan, also a Harvard Law School graduate, in February 1979 in

. They have a daughter, Molly Caplan. Carney has five brothers. Her mother, Cleo Carney, and father, John R. Carney, both served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carney, Susan Laura 1951 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit People from Waltham, Massachusetts United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama Radcliffe College alumni