David McKeague

David McKeague

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (senior status)

Tenure

2017 - Present

Years in position

7

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

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United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, 1968

Law

University of Michigan Law School, 1971

Personal

Birthplace

Pittsburgh, Pa.

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David William McKeague is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He joined the court in 2005 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.

Early life and education

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McKeague graduated from the University of Michigan with his bachelor's degree in 1968 and earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1971.

Military service

McKeague served in the United States Army Reserve from 1969 to 1975.

Professional career

• 2005 - Present: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

• 2017 - Present: Senior judge
• 2005-2017: Judge

• 1998-2013: Adjunct professor, Michigan State University College of Law
• 1992-2005: Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
• 1971-1992: Private practice, Lansing, Mich.

Judicial nominations and appointments

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: David W. McKeague
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 1309 days after nomination.
ANominated: November 8, 2001
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: June 16, 2004
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: May 26, 2005 July 20, 2004
AConfirmed: June 9, 2005
AVote: 96-0
AReturned: November 20, 2002 December 8, 2004

McKeague was first nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit by President George W. Bush on November 8, 2001, to a seat vacated by Judge Richard Suhrheinrich. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate, McKeague's nomination was returned to the president on November 20, 2002. President Bush resubmitted McKeague's nomination on January 7, 2003. Hearings on McKeague's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 16, 2004, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on July 20, 2004. A vote on McKeague's nomination was scheduled for July 22, 2004, but the Senate failed to pass a cloture motion on McKeague's nomination. On December 8, 2004, McKeague's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the 108th Congress. President Bush resubmitted McKeague's nomination on February 14, 2005. The American Bar Association rated McKeague Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Without hearings, McKeague's nomination was reported by Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) on May 26, 2005. McKeague was confirmed on a recorded 96-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 9, 2005, and he received his commission the next day. McKeague elected to take senior status on the court beginning on November 1, 2017. He was succeeded in this position by Judge Joan Larsen.

Western District of Michigan

McKeague was nominated to the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan by President George H.W. Bush on September 11, 1991, to a seat vacated by Judge Douglas Hillman. The American Bar Association rated McKeague Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on McKeague's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 30, 1992, and her nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on February 6, 1992. McKeague was confirmed by the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on February 6, 1992, and he received his commission on February 10, 1992. McKeague resigned from the district court on June 13, 2005, upon his elevation to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was succeeded in this position by Judge Janet Neff.

Noteworthy cases

Sixth Circuit holds federal appeals courts have jurisdiction in challenges to Clean Water Rule

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (In re: U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Final Rule: Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States and Murray Energy Corp. et al. v. United States Department of Defense et al., Nos. 15-3751 et seq.)

On February 22, 2016, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal appeals courts were the appropriate jurisdictional venue to hear challenges to the Clean Water Rule defining the territorial waters of the United States.

At issue were two specific subsections of 33 U.S.C. §1369(b)(1), subsections (E) and (F). Those subsections provide that federal appeals courts may review an action of the EPA administrator "(E) in approving or promulgating any effluent limitation or other limitation under section 1311, 1312, 1316, or 1345 of this title" or "(F) in issuing or denying any permit under section 1342 of this title ..." While acknowledging that the court did not have jurisdiction under subsection (E), Judge David McKeague wrote for a 2-1 panel majority that the court had jurisdiction under subsection (F). Judge McKeague relied on the Sixth Circuit's own precedent, National Cotton Council v. U.S. E.P.A. In National Cotton, the Sixth Circuit "held that subsection (F) authorizes direct circuit court review not only of actions issuing or denying particular permits, but also of regulations governing the issuance of permits." Judge McKeague held that the adoption of the Clean Water Rule "indisputably expands regulatory authority and impacts the granting and denying of permits in fundamental ways." Thus, the panel held that the Sixth Circuit had jurisdiction under subsection (F).

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in this case during its October 2017 term.

For more: see National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
• United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

External links

• Judge McKeague's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: Douglas Hillman	Western District of Michigan 1992–2005	Succeeded by: Janet Neff
Preceded by: Richard Suhrheinrich	Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals 2005-2017	Succeeded by: Joan Larsen