Topeka ? Lawrence resident Mary Beck Briscoe announced Monday that she will step down as chief judge of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, effective Sept. 30.

Briscoe is a graduate of the Kansas University School of Law. She was appointed to the federal appeals court in 1995 by President Bill Clinton and had previously served as chief judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals. She became chief judge of the 10th Circuit in 2010.

Briscoe served 11 years on the Kansas Court of Appeals. Before that, she worked 10 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Kansas and two years at the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Timothy M. Tymkovich, of Denver, will succeed her as chief judge. He has served on the 10th Circuit since 2003.

The 10th Circuit, which sits in Denver, has jurisdiction over federal district courts in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Among her more notable recent opinions was a partial dissent she wrote in 2013 in the case of Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, which challenged a portion of the Affordable Care Act that required employers to cover birth control and family planning services in their employee health plans.

A majority of the court said Hobby Lobby could refuse to provide such coverage under the Religious Feedom Restoration Act. Briscoe disagreed, saying that if such a decision is allowed to stand, it will have “opened the floodgates to RFRA litigation challenging any number of federal statutes that govern corporate affairs.”

The U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the 10th circuit’s majority opinion.

Also in 2013, she wrote an opinion affirming the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to impose a pollution reduction plan for a coal-fired power plant in Oklahoma because the state’s own clean air plan did not meet federal standards.

Briscoe was not involved in the two decisions from the 10th Circuit last year striking down state bans on same-sex marriage.

In a statement released by the court, Briscoe noted that during her tenure, the 10th Circuit was fortunate to have its five vacancies filled and to have weathered a budget crisis that flowed from the “sequestration” cuts enacted by Congress in 2013.

“It has been my honor to serve the circuit and to work daily with our very dedicated Denver staff,” Briscoe said. “I am certain Judge Tymkovich will transition smoothly into the position, and hopefully spend less time concerned with budget issues and the ripple effects they have caused circuit-wide.”

An official with the 10th Circuit said that although Briscoe is stepping down as chief judge, she will remain an active judge on the circuit.