Amul Roger Thapar (born April 29, 1969) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was appointed in 2017 by President Donald Trump, having previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2008 to 2017 and as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2006 to 2008. Thapar was Trump's first Court of Appeals appointment and second judicial appointment after Justice Neil Gorsuch. Thapar has been discussed as a candidate for the Supreme Court of the United States.
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 4/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 35/year
Kentucky Eastern District Court · 2008–2017Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals · 2017–
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- Asian American
Prior employment
U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky2006–2007
Adjunct professor · 1995–1997, 2002–2006- Southern District of OhioAssistant U.S. attorney · 2002–2006
- Private practice, Cincinnati, Ohio2001–2002
- Equalfooting.comGeneral counsel · 2000–2001
Trial advocacy instructor · 1999–2000- District of ColumbiaAssistant U.S. attorney · 1999–2000
- Private practice, Washington, D.C.1997–1999
Law clerk , Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones · 1996–1997
Law clerk , Hon. S. Arthur Spiegel · 1994–1996
Appointments
- 2017–present · Appointed by Donald J. Trump (Republican)
2008–2017 · Appointed by George W. Bush (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, School of LawJ.D. · 1994
- Boston CollegeB.S. · 1991