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Paul Kelly (United States Court of Appeals judge)

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Paul Kelly
United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
Tenure
2017 - Present
Years in position
7
Prior offices:
United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
Years in office: 1992 - 2017
Education
Bachelor's
University of Notre Dame, 1963
Law
Fordham University School of Law, 1967
Personal
Birthplace
Freeport, NY


Paul Joseph Kelly, Jr. is a federal judge on senior status the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He joined the court in 1992 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush.[1] He elected to take senior status on December 31, 2018.

Early life and education

A native of Freeport, New York, Kelly earned his B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 1963 and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1967.[1]

Professional career

Judicial career

10th Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Paul J. Kelly, Jr.
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 141 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: November 19, 1991
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: March 17, 1992
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: April 8, 1992 
ApprovedAConfirmed: April 8, 1992
ApprovedAVote: Unanimous consent


Kelly was nominated by President George H.W. Bush on November 19, 1991, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. The American Bar Association rated Kelly Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Kelly's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 17, 1992, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on April 8, 1992. Kelly was confirmed by the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on April 8, 1992, and he received his commission on April 13, 1992.[1][3] He elected to take senior status on December 31, 2017.

Noteworthy cases

Court sides with Abercrombie in religious discrimination case (2013)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., 11-5110)

On October 1, 2013, the Tenth Circuit vacated a trial court summary judgment ruling in a suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a would-be Muslim employee after the clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) declined to hire her because she wore a headscarf. Judge Jerome Holmes wrote for the majority, joined by Judge Paul Kelly. Judge David Ebel wrote separately, concurring in part and dissenting in part. In the underlying case, the plaintiff, Samantha Elauf, interviewed for a job at A&F while wearing a religious headscarf, but did not specifically inform her interviewer that she wore it for a religious purpose; the interviewer merely assumed that it was worn for a religious purpose. Ultimately, Elauf was not hired because her headscarf violated A&F's dress code. In the ruling, Holmes noted that the trial court's decision was erroneous -- there can be no religious discrimination without notification of the need for a religious accommodation. Here, because Elauf failed to tell her interviewer that she would need an accommodation for her religious headscarf, the EEOC would not have been unable to conclusively establish that A&F had actual notice of her religious needs. In his separate opinion, Ebel agreed that the trial court's decision was incorrect, but argued that the question of discrimination should have been sent to a jury.[4][5]

See also

External links


Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by:
NA-new seat
104 Stat. 5089
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
1992–2017
Succeeded by:
Joel Carson