---
title: "John Kenneth Bush | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-kenneth-bush"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# John Kenneth Bush

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, 2017-present
- Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1989-1990
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- As a Sixth Circuit judge, Bush reviews cases from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee

### Education

- Harvard University — J.D. (1989)
- Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1989.
- Vanderbilt University — B.A. (1986)

### Additional information

- Bush has participated in Federalist Society events and delivered speeches, including a 2023 address at Harvard Law School discussing the importance of state courts and the interplay between federal and state judicial authority.
- Private practice, Louisville, KY, 1996-2017
- Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1990-1996
- Date of birth: 1964-01-01
- After law school, he clerked for Judge J. Smith Henley of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
- Before joining the federal bench, Bush practiced law in Washington, D.C., at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and later in Louisville, Kentucky, at Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP, where he became a partner and co-chair of the litigation department.
- His practice focused on complex litigation, including antitrust, securities, financial institutions, insurance, intellectual property, and product liability disputes.
- He has a background in advocacy in both federal and state courts spanning over 27 years before joining the bench.
- Bush’s career reflects a combination of academic excellence, extensive litigation experience, and a conservative judicial philosophy, with a focus on textualist interpretation of law and respect for precedent.
- He emphasizes respect for trial court findings of fact and adheres to the principle of reviewing legal questions de novo while remaining bound by statutory and constitutional text.
- His chambers are located in Louisville, Kentucky.
- At Harvard, he held the role of Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy and was an Ames Moot Court finalist.
- Birth place: Hot Springs, AR

## 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/3114866)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/3114866)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/3114866)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8558/john-kenneth-bush/)
- [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/8558/john-kenneth-bush/)
- [Wikidata: John K. Bush](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29913327)

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