---
title: "Jane Louise Kelly | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jane-louise-kelly"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Jane Louise Kelly

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

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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 Eighth Circuit, 2013-present
- American jurist serving as a United States Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit since April 25, 2013
- She taught at the University of Illinois College of Law (1993–94) and then held the role of assistant federal public defender in the Northern District of Iowa from 1994 to 2013, later as supervising attorney in the Cedar Rapids office
- Law clerk, Hon. David R. Hansen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1992-1993
- Law clerk, Hon. Donald J. Porter, U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota, 1991-1992

### Education

- Harvard University — J.D. (1991)
- J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991
- B.A. summa cum laude from Duke University in 1987
- Between her undergraduate and law school years, she studied pediatrics for a year in New Zealand under a Fulbright Scholarship.

### Additional information

- On January 31, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Kelly to replace Michael Joseph Melloy, who took senior status.
- The Senate confirmed her 96–0 on April 24, 2013, and she received her commission the next day.
- supervising attorney, 1999-2013
- Visiting instructor, University of Illinois College of Law, 1993-1994
- Kelly grew up in Greencastle, Indiana, graduating co‐valedictorian from Greencastle High School in 1983.
- Born October 28, 1964, in Greencastle, Indiana.
- Date of birth: 1964-01-01
- After law school, Kelly clerked for Hon. Donald J. Porter (U.S. District Court, D. S. Dakota) and Hon. David R. Hansen (Eighth Circuit).
- Rated Qualified by the American Bar Association.

## 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/1394186)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394186)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394186)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1738/jane-louise-kelly/)
- [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/1738/jane-louise-kelly/)
- [Wikidata: Jane L. Kelly](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6152496)

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