--- title: "Karen LeCraft Henderson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-lecraft-henderson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Karen LeCraft Henderson U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 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, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1990-present - American lawyer and jurist who has held the role of a United States Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since July 5, 1990 - Judge, District Court, D. South Carolina, 1986-1990 - ���deputy attorney general/director, Criminal Division, 1982-1983 - Office of the Attorney General, State of South Carolina, 1973-1983 - After law school, she practiced in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and from 1973 to 1983 served in the Office of the South Carolina Attorney General, rising to Deputy Attorney General. - senior assistant attorney general/director, Special Litigation Section, 1978-1982 - assistant attorney general, 1973-1978 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ### Education - University of North Carolina School of Law — J.D. (1969) - Duke University — B.A. (1966) - The King's Academy ### Additional information - U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1990–present): Nominated by President George H. W. Bush on May 8, 1990, to replace Kenneth Starr; confirmed June 28, 1990, by unanimous consent, and commissioned July 5, 1990. - U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (1986–1990): Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on June 3, 1986, to replace William Walter Wilkins; confirmed June 13, 1986. - Private practice, Charleston and Columbia, SC, 1983-1986 - Private practice, Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, 1983-1986 - In 1983, she returned to private practice in Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. - Private practice, Chapel Hill, NC, 1969-1970 - Private practice, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1969-1970 - Born July 11, 1944, Oberlin, Ohio. - Date of birth: 1944-01-01 - Birth place: Oberlin, OH ## 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/1382051) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382051) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382051) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1428/karen-lecraft-henderson/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [Federal Judicial Center: D.C. Circuit judicial service](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382051) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1428/karen-lecraft-henderson/) - [Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382051) - [Wikidata: Karen L. Henderson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6369804) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-lecraft-henderson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-lecraft-henderson", "name": "Karen LeCraft Henderson | KnowJudges", "description": "Karen LeCraft Henderson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 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