Denver, CO – Today Honorable Timothy M. Tymkovich became Chief Judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 30, 2015 a ceremony was held at the Byron White U.S. Courthouse in Denver, Colorado marking Judge Tymkovich’s elevation to Chief Judge.
“I look forward to continuing the strong tradition of collegiality established by our prior Chiefs, especially Chief Judge Mary Beck Briscoe,” Chief Judge Tymkovich said. “Judge Briscoe served with exemplary leadership during a challenging time because of difficult budget and staffing decisions. Our Circuit is now as strong as it has ever been. I hope to continue that leadership and example.”
Chief Judge Tymkovich is a third generation Coloradan, who was appointed to the Tenth Circuit in 2003 by President George W. Bush. Over the past 12 years, in addition to serving on the Court, he has established himself as a leader in the Judiciary, serving the past four years as Chair of the Committee on Judicial Resources of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the governing body of the Judiciary.
“I have had the privilege of serving the Judiciary as chair of a Committee with a national perspective on budget and resource allocation. It should be good training for my duties as Chief Judge.”
He graduated from the Colorado College, earning a degree in Political Science in 1979. While attending the University of Colorado School of Law (CU ’82) he was Managing Editor of the University of Colorado Law Review. After law school, he served as clerk for the Honorable William H. Erickson, Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. After several years in private practice, he served as Solicitor General for the State of Colorado from 1991 to 1996 under Attorney General Gale Norton. As Solicitor General, he directed legal policy for the State of Colorado and was responsible for legislative matters before the Colorado General Assembly and the U.S. Congress. He also represented the State of Colorado in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
He returned to private practice in 1996, helping to form Hale Hackstaff Tymkovich, where he practiced in the areas of business litigation and appeals, election law, and legislative and regulatory matters.
Chief Judge Tymkovich remarked, “I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to serve the people of the State of Colorado in the Attorney General’s office and now in a broader role on the Tenth Circuit. As an Adjunct Professor at CU Law, I hope to give my students an insider perspective of the federal courts.”
The Tenth Circuit, with administrative headquarters in Denver, encompasses the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. Chief Judge Tymkovich is married with two adult children.
