U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit is the court overseeing the Federal district courts in several of the plains and mountain states: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. The court was organized in 1929, by act of Congress, removing the six states from the older United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The court is based in Denver, Colorado. It has 12 active judges and nine senior judges. The court is headed by Chief Judge Robert H. Henry. Henry has announced his resignation effective June 30, 2010.

Significant cases

A number of prominent federal court cases have arisen within the Tenth Circuit. Among these is Brown v. Board of Education (1954 and 1955), an appeal to the United States Supreme Court from a three-judge panel sitting in the Kansas District. Brown remains the most important education decision in the twentieth century. Appeals from the Oklahoma City bombing trials affirmed the convictions of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for domestic terrorism.

Procedural development

On 1 June 2009, the Court went to mandatory electronic filing. The Court also reminded practitioners that amended Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) took effect on 1 December 2009.

Historical Society

The Tenth Judicial Circuit Historical Society is a private organization created to promote awareness of the federal courts in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The Society was formed as a non-profit Colorado corporation in 2003. It qualifies under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization. It is based in Denver, Colorado.

Among the Society's purposes are:

• assisting in the preservation of items of historical significance, including the Byron White Collection
• assisting in the collection of materials related to court history
• planning sessions at the biennial Tenth Circuit Judicial Conference, and
• supporting the publication of articles about the development of the federal courts.

The Historical Society has published a number of works on the history of the law in the six states that comprise the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Among these are a 1992 book on the history of the circuit; general articles on the history of Kansas law and of Arthur Linton Corbin, the famous Yale contracts law professor who was born in Kansas; brief essays on a select group of prominent attorneys; and a historical profile of mid-19th century Colorado lawyers.