Utah judge leaving for Stanford post

A Utah judge who sits on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals submitted his resignation from the bench Tuesday.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals announced that Judge Michael W. McConnell, 53, of Salt Lake City, submitted his resignation, which will be effective Aug. 31.

In his resignation letter, McConnell said he plans to accept a position as the Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, Calif.

McConnell was appointed to the 10th Circuit in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Prior to his appointment, McConnell served as presidential professor of law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.

"The opportunity to serve on the 10th Circuit has been a great privilege and one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," McConnell said. "I will especially miss working with my colleagues on the court, whose friendship, collegiality and commitment to upholding law and justice are a model and an inspiration.

"But my first love remains in teaching and scholarship," he said. "Especially at this time of grave international and domestic challenges and transformation, I want to contribute more openly to debate, scholarly analysis and public understanding of the governing principles of the American Republic."

President Barack Obama will name McConnell's replacement to the Denver-based federal appellate court for the states of Utah, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

— Ethan Thomas