--- title: "Maria Araujo Kahn | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/maria-araujo-kahn" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Maria Araujo Kahn U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second 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 - Maria Araújo Kahn is an American judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, appointed in March 2023 by President Joe Biden after a career in Connecticut state courts and as a federal prosecutor. - Associate Justice, Connecticut Supreme Court (2017–2023) - State Court Judge: Connecticut Superior Court (2006–2017) — primarily criminal matters - Federal Prosecutor (1997–2006): Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Connecticut, prosecuting healthcare fraud, computer crimes, and white-collar cases - Staff attorney, Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Hartford, Connecticut, 1993-1997 - Disability Advocacy (1993–1997): Staff attorney, Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities - Law clerk, Hon. Peter C. Dorsey, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, 1989-1991 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - She has received multiple Department of Justice Special Achievement Awards and HHS OIG Integrity Awards during her prosecutorial career - In summary: Judge Maria Araújo Kahn is a distinguished jurist with over 15 years on the Connecticut bench and a strong record in federal prosecution, now serving on the Second Circuit as a federal appellate judge ### Education - Fordham University School of Law in, where she was the first recipient of the Noreen E. McNamara Scholarship — J.D. (1989) - B.A. cum laude in Politics from New York University in 1986 ### Additional information - Confirmed by the Senate on March 9, 2023, and took office March 10, 2023. - On July 29, 2022, President Biden nominated Kahn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, replacing José A. Cabranes. - Adjunct faculty, University of Connecticut School of Law, 1991-1993, 2020, 2022 - Connecticut Appellate Court (2017). - Criminal Division, 1999-2004; computer crimes coordinator, 2004-2006 - Civil Division, 1997-1999 - Deputy assistant public defender, State of Connecticut, 1991-1993 - She immigrated to the United States at age 10 in 1975, escaping Angola’s civil war. - Maria José Violante Dias Araújo was born on August 20, 1964, in Benguela, Angola, to Portuguese parents. - Date of birth: 1964-08-20 - She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. - Kahn has held the role of co-chair of the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s Access to Justice Commission and Limited English Proficiency Committee, and taught at the Connecticut Judges’ Institute. - Birth place: Angola ## 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/13373966) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13373966) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13373966) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [Judge Maria Araujo Kahn](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13373966) - [Wikidata: Maria Araujo Kahn](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47500286) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/maria-araujo-kahn", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/maria-araujo-kahn", "name": "Maria Araujo Kahn | KnowJudges", "description": "Maria Araujo Kahn, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 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