--- title: "James Earl Graves Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-earl-graves-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # James Earl Graves Jr. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth 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 Fifth Circuit, 2011-present - American jurist who has held the role of a United States circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit since February 15, 2011 - In summary: James Earl Graves Jr. is a seasoned jurist with a career in public service, private practice, and state judicial leadership, now serving on the Fifth Circuit since 2011 - He held the role of Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court from 2001 to 2011, including as Presiding Justice from 2009 to 2011. - Judge, Mississippi Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial District, 1991-2001 - Adjunct professor, Jackson State University, 1980-1997 - In 1991, Graves was appointed and later elected Hinds County Circuit Court Judge - Director, Division of Child Support Enforcement, Mississippi Department of Human Services, 1990-1991 - Special assistant attorney general, State of Mississippi, 1986-1990 ### Education - M.P.A. — Syracuse University — 1981 - He later received a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law (1980) and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse’s Maxwell School (1981). - The son of a Baptist minister, Graves graduated valedictorian from Sumner High School in Clinton, MS, then obtained a B.A. in Sociology from Millsaps College in 1975. ### Additional information - He has been a Teaching Team Member at Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop since 1998 and has taught at Millsaps College, Tougaloo College, Jackson State University, and was jurist-in-residence at Syracuse University School of Law. - West Texas A&M (2026) and Starbucks v. - Graves was nominated by President Barack Obama on January 5, 2011, to replace Rhesa H. Barksdale, confirmed by the Senate on February 14, 2011, and commissioned the next day. - legis, 2000-2000 - prof, 2000-2000 - Private practice, Jackson, MS, 1983-1986 - Graves began as a staff attorney at Central Mississippi Legal Services (1980–1983), followed by private practice in Jackson, MS. - Born 1953 in Clinton, Mississippi. - Date of birth: 1953-01-01 - Graves’ appellate work spans areas such as tribal jurisdiction, fair housing, and civil rights litigation. - Recent cases include Crawford v. - NLRB. - He sits on the Fifth Circuit, which covers federal appellate cases for Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. - He has authored opinions and concurrences, and continues to contribute to legal education. - Birth place: Hinds County, MS ## 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/1393611) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393611) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393611) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1265/james-earl-graves-jr/) - [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/1265/james-earl-graves-jr/) - [Wikidata: James E. Graves, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6133102) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-earl-graves-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-earl-graves-jr", "name": "James Earl Graves Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "James Earl Graves Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 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