---
title: "Bobby Ray Baldock | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/bobby-ray-baldock"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Bobby Ray Baldock

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

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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 Tenth Circuit, 1985-2001
- Judge, District Court, D. New Mexico, 1983-1986
- He also maintained a private legal practice in Roswell, New Mexico from 1960 to 1983 and was an adjunct professor at Eastern New Mexico University–Roswell from 1962 to 1981
- Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- As a Senior Judge, Baldock continues to hear cases on the Tenth Circuit, though with reduced caseload compared to active service

### Education

- University of Arizona College of Law in — J.D. (1960)
- Baldock graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute in 1956
- James E. Rogers College of Law

### Additional information

- Assigned 136 district court cases between 1988 and 2021, with a median case duration of 254 days.
- Assumed senior status on January 26, 2001.
- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review Served from June 17, 1992, to May 18, 1998.
- Served until January 24, 1986, when elevated to the Court of Appeals.
- Harriman (1985) being the most cited.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Nominated by Reagan on October 7, 1985, to replace Oliver Seth.
- Confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 1985, and commissioned December 17, 1985.
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on May 2, 1983, to replace Edwin L. Mechem.
- Confirmed by the Senate on June 6, 1983, and commissioned June 7, 1983.
- Private practice, Roswell, NM, 1960-1983
- Before entering the federal judiciary, Baldock held the role of a Captain and Adjutant General Staff member in the New Mexico National Guard from 1960 to 1970.
- Date of birth: 1936-01-01
- His case types included civil rights (40%), contracts (21%), personal injury torts (14%), and other federal statutes.
- He authored 15 published opinions for the Tenth Circuit, with Wojciechowski v.
- Birth place: Rocky, OK

## 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/1377376)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377376)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377376)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/156/bobby-ray-baldock/)
- [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/156/bobby-ray-baldock/)
- [Wikidata: Bobby Ray Baldock](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4935489)

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