---
title: "Martha Craig Daughtrey | KnowJudges"
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# Martha Craig Daughtrey

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: senior
- 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, 1993-2009
- Judge, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1990-1993
- Associate Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court (1990–93) — first woman on this court
- adjunct professor of law, 1988-1990
- Associate judge, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Middle Division, 1975-1990
- assistant professor of law, 1972-1975
- Assistant district attorney, Tenth Judicial Circuit, TN, 1969-1972
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Middle District of Tennessee, 1968-1969
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

### Education

- a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School in 1968, also earning membership in Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif.
- She obtained a B.A. (cum laude) from Vanderbilt University in 1964

### Additional information

- Private practice, Nashville, TN, 1968-present
- She took senior status January 1, 2009.
- Judge, 1994-1994
- On August 6, 1993, Clinton nominated her to the newly created Sixth Circuit seat; confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 1993, she assumed office November 22, 1993.
- Faculty, Vanderbilt University Law School, 1988-1990
- Practitioner, 1989-1989
- prof, 1989-1989
- Faculty, Vanderbilt Law School (1972–82, 1988–90)
- lecturer in law, 1975-1982
- Faculty, Vanderbilt University Law School, 1972-1982
- Born July 21, 1942 in Covington, Kentucky, Daughtrey grew up in Franklin, Kentucky after her father’s early death.
- Date of birth: 1942-07-21
- Birth place: Covington, KY

## 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/1379771)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379771)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379771)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/800/martha-craig-daughtrey/)
- [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/800/martha-craig-daughtrey/)
- [Wikidata: Martha Craig Daughtrey](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6774374)

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