Joel McElroy Carson III
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and confirmed by the Senate 77–21, Joel McElroy Carson III is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of New Mexico School of Law in 1997. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1971 · age 55
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2018
- Confirmed
- 77–21
- Education
- Texas Tech 1994 · University of New Mexico Law 1997
- Succeeded
- Paul Joseph Kelly Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Tenth Circuit succeeded Paul Joseph Kelly Jr. | Trump (R) | 77–21 |
| 2015 | District of New Mexico | District court | – |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 77–21 on May 15, 2018 · 115th Congress, Roll Call 94. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 77
26 D, 50 R, 1 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-MS)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Doug Jones(D-AL)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Voted against · 21
20 D, 1 I
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Tina Smith(D-MN)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 2
1 D, 1 R
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
Education
| Texas Tech University | B.B.A. | 1994 |
| University of New Mexico School of Law | J.D. | 1997 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Carson was assigned 25 district-court cases (2014–2025).
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Joel McElroy Carson III?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Joel McElroy Carson III to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 2018.
- Was Joel McElroy Carson III appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Joel McElroy Carson III was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Joel McElroy Carson III's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Joel McElroy Carson III 77–21 on May 15, 2018.
- Which court is Joel McElroy Carson III on?
- Joel McElroy Carson III is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: screenshot of video by US Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2018)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
8 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).