Mary Beck Briscoe
How Judge Briscoe rules, drawn from 45 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Briscoe
Mary Beck Briscoe is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Briscoe received a commission on May 26, 1995. Judge Briscoe assumed senior status on March 15, 2021.
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 11, 2026).
How Judge Briscoe decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Natural Resources Defense Council v. McCarthy, she held that the BLM had to lift the temporary Factory Butte closure once it found that the adverse effects were eliminated and measures to prevent their recurrence were in place.
“The regulation plainly does not allow the BLM to maintain the temporary closure order after it has made the requisite finding.”
In United States v. Morris, she applied Begay to hold that an Oklahoma DUI conviction was not a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
“because Morris's Oklahoma state conviction for 'DUI Alcohol - Second Offense' is essentially identical to the DUI conviction at issue in Begay, the Court's ruling in Begay makes clear that Morris's Oklahoma DUI conviction falls outside the scope of the [ACCA]'s clause (ii) 'violent felony' definition.”
Procedural preferences
In Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust v. FAA, she dismissed the petition for review because it was filed late.
“The petition for review of agency action is DISMISSED as not timely filed.”
In City of Eudora v. Rural Water District No. 4, she held that reaffirming an already adjudicated contract could not evade claim preclusion.
“Douglas-4 cannot circumvent res judicata by simply reaffirming a previously adjudicated contract.”
Cautions
In iMatter Utah v. Njord, she held that leaving open alternative channels for speech did not replace the requirement that a restriction be narrowly tailored.
“Although a narrowly tailored regulation may tend to leave open ample alternatives for communication, there is no basis for substituting one requirement for the other.”
In Herrmann’s disability-accommodation appeal, she rejected the City’s reading of a reassignment request as merely a request for different supervisors and reversed summary judgment on the failure-to-accommodate claim.
“It would also penalize Herrmann for requesting more than the bare minimum that the ADA allows.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“the Unions brought suit nearly two years after the Employers' final refusal to arbitrate the grievance, this suit is time-barred. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“The appeals are DISMISSED as unripe for adjudication.”
“As the jury remedy issue was not preserved by the government and would have no effect on Haymond's sentence even if reached, we grant the government's unopposed motion to dismiss.”
“we DISMISS Minemyer's appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.”
“We cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“Because we conclude that Utah's insurance and indemnification requirements are not narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, we AFFIRM.”
“we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Matthews' motion. ... AFFIRMED.”
“we conclude that the district court properly granted the Tribe's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and AFFIRM.”
“Plaintiffs' motion to dismiss is GRANTED and SCI's appeal is DISMISSED.”
“We therefore REMAND with directions to vacate Morris's sentence and resentence.”
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