---
title: "Eunice Cheryl Lee | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eunice-cheryl-lee"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Eunice Cheryl Lee

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

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second 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

- American judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021
- Adjunct assistant professor of clinical law, Criminal Appellate Defender Clinic, New York University School of Law, 2003-2019
- Office of the Appellate Defender, New York City, 1998-2019; staff attorney, 1998-2000; supervising attorney, 2001-2019; director of recrcuitment, 2003-2019
- Office of the Appellate Defender, New York City (1998–2019): Staff attorney (1998–2000) Supervising attorney (2001–2019) Director of recruitment and outreach (2003–2019) Represented indigent clients in New York state appellate cases and federal habeas proceedings
- Law clerk, Hon. Eric L. Clay, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1997-1998
- Law Clerkships: Judge Susan J. Dlott, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (1996–1997) Judge Eric L. Clay, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1997–1998)
- Law clerk, Hon. Susan J. Dlott, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 1996-1997
- Current Role: Judge Lee continues to serve on the Second Circuit, hearing appeals in federal cases across New York, Connecticut, and Vermont

### Education

- Yale Law School — J.D. (1996)
- B.A. summa cum laude in 1993 from Ohio State University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

### Additional information

- Also speculated in early 2022 as a possible Supreme Court nominee, but President Biden ultimately appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson.
- On May 12, 2021, President Biden nominated Lee to replace Judge Robert A. Katzmann, who had assumed senior status.
- Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: June 9, 2021
- Commission issued: August 16, 2021
- Confirmation vote: August 7, 2021, by a 50–47 margin
- Assistant federal defender, Federal Defenders of New York, New York City, 2019-2021
- During her confirmation, Lee addressed a past letter she wrote as an Ohio State undergraduate in 1991 about then–President George W. Bush, clarifying her position.
- Born 1970.
- Date of birth: 1970
- Lee was born in Wiesbaden, West Germany (now Germany) on a U.S. Air Force base.
- Birth place: Wiesbaden

## 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/10534666)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10534666)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10534666)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [Judge Eunice Cheryl Lee](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10534666)
- [Wikidata: Eunice C. Lee](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106811204)

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