Mary Beck Briscoe

Mary Beck Briscoe (born April 4, 1947) is a Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Early life and education

Briscoe was born in Council Grove, Kansas, and grew up on a farm near that community. She graduated from Dwight Rural High School in 1965 as her small class's valedictorian, according to a June 1, 1995 article in the Kansas City Star. She then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas in 1969. Briscoe graduated from the University of Kansas Law School in 1973, and earned a master of laws degree from the University of Virginia in 1990.^[1]

Legal career

Briscoe began her legal career in 1973 working for the Interstate Commerce Commission as an attorney-examiner. In 1974, she was appointed assistant U.S. attorney for Kansas, eventually becoming the supervising attorney for the Topeka office. She was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 1984 by Gov. John W. Carlin, where she served until her appointment to the Tenth Circuit. From 1990 until 1995, Briscoe was the chief judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals.^[2]

Federal judicial service

On March 14, 1995, President Clinton nominated Briscoe to her seat on the Tenth Circuit to replace James K. Logan, who had retired. Her nomination was not viewed as at all controversial, and the U.S. Senate confirmed her in a voice vote on May 25, 1995. She served as chief judge of the court from May 1, 2010 to October 1, 2015. ^[3]

References

External links

• Mary Beck Briscoe at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.