Born in Wichita, Kansas, Ebel received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 1962 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review, in 1965.
After law school he clerked for Justice Byron White of the United States Supreme Court from 1965 to 1966.
He was in private practice in Denver, Colorado, from 1966 to 1988 at the firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs.
[2] Ebel was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on December 18, 1987, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by Judge William Edward Doyle.
[2] Neil Gorsuch, nominated on May 10, 2006, was appointed by President George W. Bush to replace him.