--- title: "Stephanie Dawn Thacker | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-dawn-thacker" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Stephanie Dawn Thacker U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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 Fourth Circuit, 2012-present - Assistant attorney general, Environmental Division, State of West Virginia, 1992-present - As of 2026, Thacker remains an active circuit judge on the Fourth Circuit, continuing to hear appeals in a range of federal cases - Stephanie Dawn Thacker (née Young) is an active federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 - On September 8, 2011, President Obama nominated Thacker to the Fourth Circuit seat vacated by Judge M. Blane Michael - In 2006, she became a partner at Guthrie & Thomas in Charleston, WV - From 1999 to 2006, she served in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in Washington, D.C., as a trial attorney, Deputy Chief for Litigation, and Principal Deputy Chief of Litigation - She then joined King, Betts & Allen in Charleston, WV, before becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of West Virginia (1994–1999). - After law school, Thacker worked in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA (1990–1992) and as an Assistant Attorney General in West Virginia’s Environmental Division (1992–1994). - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ### Education - a J.D. with honors from West Virginia University College of Law in 1990. - She obtained a B.A. in marketing, magna cum laude, from Marshall University in 1987 ### Additional information - The Senate confirmed her on April 16, 2012, and she received her commission on April 17, 2012. - Private practice, Charleston, WV, 2006-2012 - principal deputy chief, 2004-2006 - deputy chief for litigation, 2002-2004 - trial attorney, 1999-2002 - Born August 22, 1965 in Huntington, West Virginia, Thacker grew up in Hamlin, WV. - Date of birth: 1965-01-01 - Part of the team that prosecuted the first federal case under the Violence Against Women Act. - handling criminal defense matters, including representation of Jeffrey Epstein on alleged child sex trafficking issues. - The American Bar Association rated her “Substantial Majority Well Qualified”. - Birth place: Huntington, WV ## 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/1393951) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393951) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393951) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3194/stephanie-dawn-thacker/) - [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/3194/stephanie-dawn-thacker/) - [Wikidata: Stephanie Thacker](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7608418) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-dawn-thacker", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-dawn-thacker", "name": "Stephanie Dawn Thacker | KnowJudges", "description": "Stephanie Dawn Thacker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 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