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title: "Douglas Howard Ginsburg | KnowJudges"
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# Douglas Howard Ginsburg

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 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

- Professor of law, George Mason University, 2013-present
- Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1986-present
- Professor of law, New York University Law School, 2011-2013
- Service: Judge on the D.C. Circuit from 1986 to 2011
- Distinguished adjunct professor of law, George Mason University, 1988-2010
- Visiting professor of law, Columbia University, 1987-1988
- Assistant attorney general, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1985-1986
- Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, DOJ (1985–86)
- Deputy assistant attorney general, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1983-1984
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, DOJ (1983–84)
- Professor of Law, Harvard Law School (1975–1983)
- Professor of law, Harvard University, 1975-1983
- Law clerk, Hon. Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court of the United States, 1974-1975
- Law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall (U.S. Supreme Court) (1974–75)
- Law clerk, Hon. Carl McGowan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1973-1974
- Law clerk to Judge Carl McGowan (D.C. Circuit) (1973–74)
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- Current Role: Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and active academic and policy contributor
- Current Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
- Douglas Howard Ginsburg is an American lawyer, jurist, and professor, currently serving as a Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

### Education

- University of Chicago Law School — J.D. (1973)
- in Classics, Cornell University — B.S. (1970)
- Visiting professorships at Columbia, University of Chicago, New York University, and George Mason University.

### Additional information

- Visiting senior lecturer, University of Chicago, 1990-present
- Recipient of the John Sherman Award (2020) from the DOJ Antitrust Division for lifetime contributions to antitrust law.
- Senior Status: Assumed on October 14, 2011.
- Lecturer in law, Columbia University, 2009-2011
- Distinguished visiting scholar, New York Law School, 2006-2009
- Chief Judge from July 16, 2001, to February 10, 2008.
- Lecturer on law, Harvard University, 1988-1989
- Appointed: Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 23, 1986, to a seat vacated by J. Skelly Wright; confirmed by the Senate on October 8, 1986, and commissioned October 14, 1986.
- Administrator for information and regulatory affairs, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 1984-1985
- Born May 25, 1946, Chicago, Illinois.
- Date of birth: 1946-01-01
- Latin School of Chicago
- Author of numerous works on antitrust law, constitutional law, and regulation.
- Member of multiple advisory boards, including Competition Policy International and the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.
- Birth place: Chicago, IL

## 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/1381266)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381266)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381266)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1212/douglas-howard-ginsburg/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [Federal Judicial Center: D.C. Circuit judicial service](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381266)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1212/douglas-howard-ginsburg/)
- [Wikidata: Douglas H. Ginsburg](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5301550)

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