--- title: "Carolyn Baldwin McHugh | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/carolyn-baldwin-mchugh" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Carolyn Baldwin McHugh 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: active - 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, 2014-present - State judiciary: Appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals by Governor Jon Huntsman in 2005; held the role of associate presiding judge (2010–2011) and presiding judge (2012–2014) - Private practice: Associate and later shareholder at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless in Salt Lake City (1983–2005) - Law clerk, Hon. Bruce S. Jenkins, U.S. District Court, District of Utah, 1982-1983 - American lawyer and judge who serves as a United States circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit - Judge Memorial Catholic High School ### Education - She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah in 1978 with a B.A., then earned her J.D. from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1982, graduating Order of the Coif and serving as editor of the Utah Law Review. ### Additional information - Her work spans civil, criminal, and administrative appeals, and she has been involved in significant rulings, such as the 2016 case where the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit’s decision on SORNA registration. - On January 6, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated McHugh to the Tenth Circuit to replace Michael R. Murphy. - Confirmed by the Senate on March 12, 2014, and commissioned on March 14, 2014. - Private practice, Salt Lake City, UT, 1983-2005 - Born July 12, 1957, Abington Township, Pennsylvania. - McHugh was born in 1957 while her family was in Baltimore, Maryland, and later moved with her father’s career to Salt Lake City, Utah. - Date of birth: 1957-01-01 - focusing on complex commercial litigation - As a Tenth Circuit judge, McHugh has authored opinions and sat on panels in a range of cases, including United States v. - Smith and Lakey v. - Bryant. - The first woman from Utah to sit on the Tenth Circuit. - The American Bar Association rated her Unanimously Well Qualified. - Birth place: Abington, PA ## 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/1394386) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394386) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394386) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2144/carolyn-baldwin-mchugh/) - [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/2144/carolyn-baldwin-mchugh/) - [Wikidata: Carolyn B. McHugh](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5045303) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/carolyn-baldwin-mchugh", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/carolyn-baldwin-mchugh", "name": "Carolyn Baldwin McHugh | KnowJudges", "description": "Carolyn Baldwin McHugh, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. 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