Judge Joseph L. Toth
Judge Joseph L. Toth was nominated by the President of the United States in June 2017. He was
subsequently confirmed by the United States Senate and was appointed a Judge of the United
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in August 2017.
Judge Toth is a veteran of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps of the United States Navy,
where he served as Senior Defense Counsel in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and provided legal
assistance to veterans, service members, and their families. In 2011, Judge Toth was deployed to
the Zhari district of Afghanistan where he served as a Field Officer for the Rule of Law Field Force
Afghanistan (ROLFF-A) and was stationed with the Army's 10th Mountain Division. He
received the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his service in Afghanistan.
After leaving active duty, Judge Toth served as Associate Federal Defender in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, with a focus on appellate litigation and motions practice. Judge Toth has served on or
appeared before several federal and military courts, including the United States Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Judge Toth clerked for Judge Daniel A. Manion of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit and Judge Robert J. Conrad of the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina. Additionally, he worked as an Associate Counsel at Drinker Biddle &
Reath, LLP in the commercial litigation group.
Judge Toth received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Chicago and his juris
doctor from the Ave Maria School of Law, where he was the managing editor of the Ave Maria
Law Review.
