Judge Karen Nelson Moore
Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Karen Nelson Moore was born in December 1948 in Washington, D.C. She received an undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University and earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and later for Justice Harry Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Moore was an instructor for the International Tax Law Program at Harvard for two years before entering private practice. She also served on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University Law School and was visiting professor at Harvard Law School.
She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She was confirmed by a voice vote of the Senate and received her commission in March 1995.
In the News…
The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals once again reinstated a Tennessee ban on abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, or because of the race or gender of the fetus. The ban is part of a sweeping measure restricting abortion procedures that has faced multiple legal challenges since it was enacted in 2020.
Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote a four-page dissent, saying the appeals court was refusing to schedule the hearing until the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision on whether to uphold the Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That decision could dramatically limit abortion rights in the United States.
“These stay-and-delay tactics subvert the normal judicial process, harming both the substance of our ultimate decision and our court’s legitimacy,” she said.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Moore today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Karen Nelson Moore
Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse
100 East Fifth St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
