--- title: "Kevin Christopher Newsom | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kevin-christopher-newsom" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Kevin Christopher Newsom 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: 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 Eleventh Circuit, 2017-present - In summary: Kevin Christopher Newsom is a highly experienced appellate lawyer and jurist, now serving on the Eleventh Circuit since 2017, with a career marked by prestigious clerkships, high-level litigation, and academic contributions - Adjunct professor, Vanderbilt University Law School, 2011-present - Adjunct professor, Georgetown University Law Center, 2002-present - Partner and chair of appellate practice at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Birmingham, AL (2007–2017) - Adjunct professor, Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, 2009-2011 - Solicitor General of Alabama (2003–2007), arguing 18 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court - Law Clerk, Supreme Court of the United States, 2000-2001 - Law clerk to Justice David H. Souter, U.S. Supreme Court (1998–1999) - Law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, 9th Circuit (1997–1998) - Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1997-1998 - American attorney and jurist serving as a United States Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit - Newsom has held the role of an adjunct professor at Georgetown, Samford, Vanderbilt, and Stanford Law Schools, and is a George W. Crawford Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1997) - magna cum laude — Harvard Law School, articles editor of the Harvard Law Review — J.D. (1997) - summa cum laude — Samford University — B.A. (1994) ### Additional information - His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2017, and he received his judicial commission on August 2, 2017. - Nominated by President Donald Trump on May 8, 2017, to replace Judge Joel Fredrick Dubina, who had assumed senior status in 2013. - He has also been a member of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules (2011–2017). - Private practice, Birmingham, AL, 2007-2017 - Solicitor general, State of Alabama, 2003-2007 - Private practice in Washington, D.C. (1998–2000, 2001–2003) - Born September 22, 1972, in Birmingham, Alabama. - Date of birth: 1972-01-01 - He sits in Birmingham, Alabama. - Born to parents with alcoholism issues; attended Homewood High School in Birmingham - Member of the Federalist Society and American Law Institute - Recognized for his appellate law expertise, having argued multiple cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal appellate courts - Birth place: Birmingham, AL ## 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/3267886) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/3267886) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/3267886) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8610/kevin-christopher-newsom/) - [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/8610/kevin-christopher-newsom/) - [Wikidata: Kevin C. Newsom](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q29867685) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kevin-christopher-newsom", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kevin-christopher-newsom", "name": "Kevin Christopher Newsom | KnowJudges", "description": "Kevin Christopher Newsom, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 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