---
title: "David M. Ebel | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-m-ebel"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# David M. Ebel

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, 1988-2006
- Adjunct professor of law, University of Denver Law School, 1987-1989
- Private practice in Denver, CO (1966–1988) at Davis Graham & Stubbs
- Law clerk, Hon. Byron White, Supreme Court of the United States, 1965-1966
- Law clerk to Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court (1965–1966)
- Ebel remains a Senior Judge on the Tenth Circuit, as listed on the U.S. Courts website
- Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

### Education

- University of Michigan Law School — summa cum laude, editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review — J.D. (1965)
- Northwestern University — B.A. (1962)
- Northwestern University, University of Michigan Law School

### Additional information

- Senior Status: Assumed on January 16, 2006.
- His seat was later filled by Neil Gorsuch in 2006.
- Presided over the Timothy McVeigh appeal in 1998.
- Contributed to Rwandan judicial reform post-1994 genocide, assisting in transitioning from civil to common law and creating new court structures.
- Senior lecturing fellow, Duke University Law School, 1992-1994
- Confirmed: By the U.S. Senate on April 19, 1988; commissioned April 20, 1988.
- Appointed: Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on December 18, 1987, to replace William Edward Doyle.
- Date of birth: 1940-01-01
- Preceded by: William Edward Doyle
- Succeeded by: Neil Gorsuch.
- Served seven years on the Judicial Conference Code of Conduct Committee
- overseeing consolidation of federal judicial employee codes.
- Birth place: Wichita, KS

## 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/1380351)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380351)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380351)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/963/david-m-ebel/)
- [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/963/david-m-ebel/)
- [Wikidata: David M. Ebel](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15451818)

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