John M. Rogers (Sixth Circuit)

John M. Rogers

Nonpartisan

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

Tenure

2018 - Present

Years in position

6

Prior offices

United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

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Education

Bachelor's

Stanford University, 1970

Law

University of Michigan Law School, 1974

Personal

Birthplace

Rochester, N.Y.

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John M. Rogers is a federal judge on senior status on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He assumed senior status on May 15, 2018.

Early life and education

A native of Rochester, New York, Rogers graduated from Stanford University with his bachelor's degree in 1970 and from the University of Michigan Law School with his J.D. in 1974.

Military service

Rogers served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1970 to 1998.

Professional career

• 2002 - Present: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

• 2018 - Present: Senior judge
• 2002-2018: Judge

• 1978-2002: Faculty, University of Kentucky College of Law
• 1974-1978: Appellate counsel, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Judicial career

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: John M. Rogers
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 330 days after nomination.
ANominated: December 19, 2001
AABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: June 13, 2002
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: July 11, 2002
AConfirmed: November 14, 2002
AVote: Voice vote

Rogers was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit by President George W. Bush on December 19, 2001, to a seat vacated by Judge Eugene Siler as Siler assumed senior status. The American Bar Association rated Rogers Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Rogers' nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 13, 2002, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on July 11, 2002. Rogers was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on November 14, 2002, and he received his commission on November 26, 2002. He assumed senior status on May 15, 2018.

Noteworthy cases

SCOTUS vacates 6th Circuit ruling on IDEA (2017)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools)

On February 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a judgment of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools. A minor student, E.F., was prescribed a service dog to help her with everyday tasks. She sought to bring her service dog to school, but the school refused. The school provided her with a human aide as part of her individual education plan (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). E.F. sued to bring her dog under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and applicable Michigan law. A federal district court dismissed E.F.'s claims because the relief E.F. sought would utilize her IEP, which falls within the IDEA. Under the IDEA, all administrative procedures for relief must be exhausted before a suit can be brought under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act. E.F. claimed that the exhaustion provisions did not apply because the relief she sought was not provided under the IDEA. A federal district court rejected that argument.

Writing for the circuit panel, Judge John Rogers upheld the district court's judgment. The panel acknowledged the court's holding that exhaustion was not required for injuries that both relate to an IDEA-defined provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE) and cannot be resolved through the administrative process. However, the panel held that exhaustion was required in this case "because the suit turns on the same questions that would have determined the outcome of IDEA procedures, had they been used to resolve the dispute. ... In fact, the school did use IDEA procedures to attempt to resolve the dispute, and the injuries alleged by the Frys here could have been raised then."

In her decision for the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan sought to give courts guidance as to how they can ascertain when a plaintiff seeks relief for the denial of a FAPE versus seeking relief for some other type of violation. In the court's view, "what matters is the crux—or in legal-speak, the gravamen-of the plaintiff's complaint, setting aside any attempts at artful pleading." Because the Sixth Circuit did not undertake an assessment of whether or not the gravamen of the petitioners' complaint addressed the denial of a FAPE, the Supreme Court vacated the circuit court's judgment and remanded the case back to the circuit court with instructions to "establish whether (or to what extent) the Frys invoked the IDEA’s dispute resolution process before bringing this suit. And if the Frys started down that road, the court should decide whether their actions reveal that the gravamen of their complaint is indeed the denial of a FAPE, thus necessitating further exhaustion."

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

External links

• Judge Rogers' biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: Eugene Siler	Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals 2002 – 2018	Succeeded by: John Nalbandian