---
title: "Barbara Milano Keenan | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Barbara Milano Keenan

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2010-present
- Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia, 1991-2010
- Judge, Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1985-1991
- Judge, Virginia Circuit Court, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, 1982-1985
- Judge, Fairfax Virginia General District Court, 1980-1982
- Commissioner in chancery, Fairfax County, VA, 1975-1980
- Assistant commonweath attorney, Fairfax County, VA, 1974-1976
- 1974–1976: Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Fairfax County, VA
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

### Education

- University of Virginia School of Law — LL.M. (1992)
- George Washington University — J.D. (1974)
- Cornell University — B.A. (1971)

### Additional information

- Judge, 2011-2011
- Practitioner, 1990-1990
- prof, 1990-1990
- Member, Board of Zoning Appeals, Fairfax County, VA, 1978-1980
- Private practice, Fairfax, VA, 1976-1980
- Date of birth: 1950-01-01
- Keenan was born in Vienna, Austria, to first-generation American parents, and raised in Northern Virginia.
- Birth place: Vienna, Austria

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392991)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392991)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392991)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1725/barbara-milano-keenan/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1725/barbara-milano-keenan/)
- [Wikidata: Barbara Milano Keenan](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4859156)

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