Judge Maria Araújo Kahn was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in March 2023. Prior to her appointment to the Second Circuit, Judge Kahn served as an Associate Justice on the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Judge Kahn began her career as a state court jurist when she was appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court in 2006, where she was primarily assigned to preside over criminal matters. In 2017, Judge Kahn was appointed to the Connecticut Appellate Court and, shortly thereafter, elevated once again to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Judge Kahn previously served as the co-chair of the Connecticut Judicial Branch's Access to Justice Commission and the Limited English Proficiency Committee. She was a member of the State Judges' Education Committee and taught several courses at the Connecticut Judges' Institute.

Prior to becoming a state court judge, Judge Kahn served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Connecticut for nearly nine years. Judge Kahn is honored to have received numerous awards during her tenure as an AUSA, including several Special Achievement Awards from the Department of Justice and two Integrity Awards from the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. She also served as a staff attorney in the State of Connecticut's Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities from 1993 to 1997 and as a Deputy Assistant Public Defender for the State of Connecticut from 1991 to 1993.

Judge Kahn served as a law clerk to the Honorable Peter C. Dorsey of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut from 1989 to 1991. She received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1989 and her B.A., cum laude, from New York University in 1986.

Judge Kahn was born in Angola, Africa, immigrated to the United States at the age of ten, and is fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish.