Joshua Dunlap

Joshua Dale Dunlap (born 1983) is an American lawyer who has served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit since 2025. Before that, he practiced law at the Maine firm Pierce Atwood from 2009 to 2025.

Early life and education

Dunlap was born in 1983, in Waterville, Maine. He received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in 2005 from Pensacola Christian College. In 2008, he received a Juris Doctor, also summa cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School, where he earned the Colonel William J. Hoynes Award, the school's highest academic honor, and served as note editor for the Notre Dame Law Review. Dunlap served as a law clerk for Judge Paul Joseph Kelly Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2008 to 2009.

Federal judicial service

On July 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Dunlap to a seat vacated by Judge William J. Kayatta Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. On September 11, 2025, his nomination was advanced to the United States Senate by a 12–10 vote. Dunlap was confirmed on November 4, 2025 by a 52–46 vote. He received his judicial commission on November 7, 2025.

Personal

Dunlap resides in Scarborough, Maine.