--- title: "Toby Jay Heytens | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/toby-jay-heytens" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Toby Jay Heytens 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, 2021-present - University of Virginia School of Law, 2006-2021; associate professor, 2006-2014; co-director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, 2011, 2014-2015, 2016-2017; professor, 2014-2021 - Appellate practice transition counsel, Office of the Attorney General, State of Virginia, 2018 - Assistant to the solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice, 2007-2010 - Visiting assistant professor, Cornell Law School, 2005 - Law clerk, Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States, 2002-2003 - Law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court (2002–2003) - Bristow Fellow, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001-2002 - Law clerk, Hon. Edward R. Becker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2000-2001 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - In summary: Toby J. Heytens is a highly experienced jurist with a background in federal appellate law, Supreme Court clerkship, state-level legal advocacy, and academic leadership, now serving as a federal appellate judge on the Fourth Circuit ### Education - University of Virginia School of Law (Order of the Coif) — J.D. (2000) - Macalester College — B.A. (1997) - University of Virginia-Main Campus — J.D. ### Additional information - Nominated by President Joe Biden on July 13, 2021, to replace Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, who had assumed senior status. - The Senate confirmed him 53–43 on November 1, 2021, and he received his judicial commission the next day. - Solicitor general, State of Virginia, 2018-2021 - David H. Ibbeken '71 Research Professor, 2015-2018 - At UVA Law, Heytens taught courses in civil procedure, constitutional torts, criminal procedure, and remedies, and was recognized with the Raven Award (2015) and All-University Teaching Award (2016). - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 2003-2006, 2014 - Date of birth: 1975-12-24 - Active appellate judge, hearing cases within the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction, which covers Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and parts of Virginia and West Virginia. - He has authored numerous law review articles and scholarly works on legal change, judicial reassignment, and constitutional law. - Birth place: Duluth, MN ## 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/10959846) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10959846) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10959846) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/16216/toby-j-heytens/) - [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/16216/toby-j-heytens/) - [Judge Toby Jay Heytens](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10959846) - [Wikidata: Toby J. Heytens](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48822006) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/toby-jay-heytens", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/toby-jay-heytens", "name": "Toby Jay Heytens | KnowJudges", "description": "Toby Jay Heytens, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 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