---
title: "Joel Fredrick Dubina | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joel-fredrick-dubina"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Joel Fredrick Dubina

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

## Profile

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

- Chief Judge (2009–2013): Led the Eleventh Circuit during this period
- U.S. District Judge (1986–1990): Appointed by President Ronald Reagan to fill Judge Varner’s seat; confirmed by the Senate on September 12, 1986
- Judge, District Court, M.D. Alabama, 1986-1990
- U.S. Magistrate Judge (1983–1986): Served on the Middle District of Alabama bench
- Law clerk, Hon. Robert E. Varner, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama, 1973-1974
- He held the role of a law clerk to Judge Robert Edward Varner of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama from 1973 to 1974
- Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Current Status: Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

### Education

- Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in — J.D. (1973)
- University of Alabama in — B.S. (1970)

### Additional information

- Senior Status: Assumed senior status on October 26, 2013, at age 66.
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1990–2013): Nominated by President George H. W. Bush on June 7, 1990, to replace Robert Smith Vance; confirmed September 28, 1990.
- U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama, 1983-1986
- Private practice, Montgomery, AL, 1974-1983
- Date of birth: 1947-01-01
- Troy Davis habeas corpus case — part of a three-judge panel denying a second or successive habeas petition.
- He lives in Montgomery, Alabama, with his wife, and enjoys mountaineering (including climbs of Mount Rainier, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount La Concha), fishing, and hunting.
- His daughter, Martha Roby, is a U.S. House member.

## 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/1380211)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380211)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380211)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/924/joel-fredrick-dubina/)
- [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/924/joel-fredrick-dubina/)
- [Wikidata: Joel Fredrick Dubina](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6213460)

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