---
title: "Michael Yale Scudder Jr. | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-yale-scudder-jr"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Michael Yale Scudder Jr.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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 Seventh Circuit, 2018-present
- Counselor to the deputy attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, 2006-present
- Private practice: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Chicago (2009–2018)
- U.S. Department of Justice: Counsel to Deputy Attorney General (2006)
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York, 2002-2006
- Law clerk, Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, Supreme Court of the United States, 1999-2000
- Law clerk: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court (1999–2000)
- Law clerk: Hon. Paul V. Niemeyer, 4th Cir. (1998–1999)
- Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1998-1999
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Academic roles: Adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and University of Chicago Law School

### Education

- magna cum laude: Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; inducted into the Order of the Coif; editor‐in‐chief of the Northwestern University Law Review — J.D. (1998)
- B.B.A. — Saint Josephs College — 1993
- B.B.A. (1993): Saint Joseph’s College, co‐valedictorian

### Additional information

- Associate counsel, President George W. Bush, 2007-present
- Married to Sarah Rose Schoenle since 1993.
- Senate confirmation: 90–0 vote on May 14, 2018
- Private practice, Chicago, IL, 2009-2018
- General counsel, National Security Council, and senior associate counsel, President George W. Bush, 2007-2009
- White House: Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush (2007)
- Assistant U.S. Attorney: S.D.N.Y. (2002–2006)
- Private practice: Jones Day, Cleveland, OH (2000–2002)
- Date of birth: 1971-01-01
- Official contact: michael_scudder@

## 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/4622996)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4622996)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4622996)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8633/michael-yale-scudder-jr/)
- [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/8633/michael-yale-scudder-jr/)
- [Wikidata: Michael Yale Scudder Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48570995)

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