---
title: "Eric L. Clay | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Eric L. Clay

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

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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 Sixth Circuit, 1997-present
- From 1973 to 1997, Clay practiced law in Detroit, Michigan, as a partner and co‐founder of Lewis, White & Clay, one of the nation’s leading Black‐owned law firms
- Law clerk, Hon. Damon J. Keith, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 1972-1973
- He held the role of a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Damon J. Keith (E.D. Michigan) from 1972 to 1973
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- As a Sixth Circuit judge, Clay has authored and participated in numerous opinions, covering areas such as voting rights, labor law, and civil rights

### Education

- Yale Law School in, where he was a classmate of future U.S. Presidents Bill and Hillary Clinton — J.D. (1972)
- B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of North Carolina in 1969
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

### Additional information

- Renomination: January 7, 1997
- Commission: August 1, 1997
- Confirmation: July 31, 1997, by unanimous voice vote of the Senate
- Private practice, Detroit, MI, 1973-1997
- Nomination: March 6, 1996, by President Clinton to replace Ralph B. Guy Jr.
- Initial Senate action: Reported favorably in 1996, but adjourned without a vote
- He also served on the executive board of the Clinton‐Gore finance committee for Michigan in 1992.
- Date of birth: 1948-01-01
- The American Bar Association rated him Unanimously Well Qualified.
- Appointed by: William J. Clinton
- Hillside High School
- Notable among his recent work is a ruling that Ohio’s voter deregistration process violates federal law.
- Birth place: Durham, NC

## 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/1390456)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390456)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390456)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/642/eric-l-clay/)
- [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/642/eric-l-clay/)
- [Wikidata: Eric L. Clay](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5386922)

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