--- title: "David Jeremiah Barron | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-jeremiah-barron" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # David Jeremiah Barron U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the First 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 - Current Role: Chief Judge of the First Circuit since 2022 - Judge, Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 2014-present - William Green Professor of Public Law, Harvard Law School (2011–2014) - S. William Green professor of public law, 2011-2014 - Professor, Harvard Law School (2004–2014) - While Acting Assistant Attorney General in 2010, Barron authored a classified memo that provided the legal basis for President Obama’s decision to order a drone strike on Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and radical Islamic militant in Yemen - Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, 2009-2010 - Acting Assistant Attorney General, OLC, 2009–2010 - Assistant Professor, Harvard Law School (1999–2004) - Attorney Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, 1996–1999 - Law clerk, Hon. John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court of the United States, 1995-1996 - Law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens (U.S. Supreme Court), 1995–1996 - Law clerk, Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1994-1995 - Law clerk to Judge Stephen Reinhardt (9th Circuit), 1994–1995 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - Currently Louis D. Brandeis Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1994) - Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, member of the Harvard Law Review — J.D. (1994) - Harvard University — B.A. (1989) - Harvard College, magna cum laude, president of The Harvard Crimson — B.A. (1989) ### Additional information - consultant, 2010-present - Appointment: Nominated by President Barack Obama on January 6, 2014, to a seat vacated by Michael Boudin; confirmed by the Senate 53–45 on May 22, 2014, and commissioned May 23, 2014. - Harvard Law School, 1999-2014 - professor, 2004-2011 - Reporter for The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), 1989–1991. - Date of birth: 1967-01-01 - As Chief Judge, Barron presides over the First Circuit’s docket and has authored and sat on numerous appellate cases, including United States v. - Levasseur and Citation Insurance Company v. - Broan-NuTone LLC. - Birth place: Washington, DC ## 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/1394531) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394531) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394531) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/187/david-jeremiah-barron/) - [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/187/david-jeremiah-barron/) - [Wikidata: David Jeremiah Barron](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14944939) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-jeremiah-barron", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-jeremiah-barron", "name": "David Jeremiah Barron | KnowJudges", "description": "David Jeremiah Barron, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. 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