--- title: "Neomi Jehangir Rao | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Neomi Jehangir Rao U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 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 D.C. Circuit, 2019-present - American jurist and legal scholar serving as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since March 18, 2019 - Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, 2006-2019 - From 2006 to 2017, she was a professor of law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, teaching constitutional law, legislation, statutory interpretation, and administrative law - Private practice in London at Clifford Chance LLP (2002–2005) - Law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas (U.S. Supreme Court, 2001–2002) - Law Clerk, Supreme Court of the United States, 2001-2002 - Law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III (4th Circuit, 1999–2000) - Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1999-2000 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ### Education - She later received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1999, with high honors and Order of the Coif membership. - Yale University (BA, 1995), University of Chicago Law School (JD, 1999) - She attended Detroit Country Day School, graduating in 1991, then obtained a B.A. in ethics, politics, economics, and philosophy from Yale University in 1995, cum laude. ### Additional information - Nominated by President Donald Trump on January 23, 2019, to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit. - Confirmed by the Senate on March 13, 2019, and commissioned on March 18, 2019. - Before this, she held the role of Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget (2017–2019). - director and founder, Center for the Study of the Administrative State, 2015-2017 - In 2014, she founded the Center for the Study of the Administrative State. - Associate counsel and special assistant to President George W. Bush, 2005-2006 - Associate White House Counsel to President George W. Bush (2005–2006) - Private practice, London, United Kingdom, 2002-2005 - Counsel for nominations and constitutional law, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 2000-2001 - Born 1973 in Detroit, Michigan. - Date of birth: 1973-01-01 - Rao was born to Parsi parents, Zerin and Jehangir Narioshang Rao, who immigrated from India in 1972. - On the D.C. Circuit, Rao has authored and participated in numerous appellate cases, including Patrick Mahoney v. - U.S. Capitol Police Board, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. - HHS, and Giffords v. - FEC. - Her work spans administrative law, constitutional issues, and regulatory matters. - Birth place: Detroit, MI ## 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/6135386) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6135386) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6135386) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8626/neomi-jehangir-rao/) - [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/8626/neomi-jehangir-rao/) - [Wikidata: Neomi Rao](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30068216) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao", "name": "Neomi Jehangir Rao | KnowJudges", "description": "Neomi Jehangir Rao, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao#judge", "name": "Neomi Jehangir Rao", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao", "jobTitle": "U.S. Circuit Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/6135386", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8626/neomi-jehangir-rao/" ], "birthDate": "1973", "birthPlace": "Detroit, MI", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Yale University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Chicago" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "National federal courts", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/national-federal-courts" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neomi Jehangir Rao", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/neomi-jehangir-rao" } ] } ] } ```