--- title: "Karen Nelson Moore | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-nelson-moore" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Karen Nelson Moore 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, 1995-present - Visiting professor, Harvard Law School, 1990-present - American federal judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and confirmed by the Senate on March 24, 1995 - Faculty, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 1977-1995; assistant professor, 1977-1980; associate professor, 1980-1982; professor of law, 1982-1995 - Visiting professor, Harvard Law School, 1990-1991 - She then worked in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio (1975–77), and joined Case Western Reserve University School of Law as faculty in 1977, becoming its first tenured female professor and the first to hold an endowed chair. - Law clerk, Hon. Harry Blackmun, Supreme Court of the United States, 1974-1975 - Moore clerked for Judge Malcolm Wilkey of the D.C. Circuit (1973–74) and for Justice Harry Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court (1974–75), being the first woman to clerk for Blackmun - Law clerk, Hon. Malcolm Wilkey, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1973-0074 - Law clerk, Hon. Malcolm Wilkey, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1973-74 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1973) ### Additional information - On January 24, 1995, President Clinton nominated Moore to the Sixth Circuit, replacing Robert B. Krupansky. - The Senate confirmed her by voice vote on March 24, 1995, and she received her commission that same day. - She later held the role of a visiting professor at Harvard Law School (1990–91) and held leadership roles in the Harvard Alumni Association. - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1975-1977 - Instructor, International Tax Law Program, Harvard Law School, 1972-1973 - Karen Mary Nelson Moore was born in 1948 in Washington, D.C. She earned her A.B. from Radcliffe College in 1970 (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude) and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1973 (magna cum laude). - Date of birth: 1948-01-01 - The American Bar Association rated her “Substantial Majority Qualified” and “Minority Well Qualified”. - At Harvard, she was the only female member of the Harvard Law Review and taught in the International Tax Law Program. - Birth place: Washington, DC ## 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/1385301) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385301) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385301) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2296/karen-nelson-moore/) - [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/2296/karen-nelson-moore/) - [Judge Karen Nelson Moore](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385301) - [Wikidata: Karen Nelson Moore](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6369914) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-nelson-moore", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-nelson-moore", "name": "Karen Nelson Moore | KnowJudges", "description": "Karen Nelson Moore, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. 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