Alan Angus McDonald
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and confirmed by voice vote, Alan Angus McDonald was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He earned a law degree from University of Washington School of Law in 1952. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1927–2007
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1985
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Washington 1950 · University of Washington Law 1952
- Succeeded by
- Edward F. Shea
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Eastern District of Washington | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Washington | B.S. | 1950 |
| University of Washington School of Law | LL.B. | 1952 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, McDonald was assigned 2,105 district-court cases (1974–2006). Median time from filing to termination: 259 days across 2,105 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 23 of McDonald’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 19 were affirmed, 2 reversed or vacated, and 2 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, McDonald authored 57 published opinions for the court (1989–2007). Most cited: Keenan v. Allan (39 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Keenan v. Allan | 889 F. Supp. 1320 | 39 |
| 2003 | Pacific Aerospace & Electronics, Inc. v. Taylor | 295 F. Supp. 2d 1188 | 30 |
| 1993 | Washington Central Railroad v. National Mediation Board | 830 F. Supp. 1343 | 26 |
| 1997 | Yakama Indian Nation v. Flores | 955 F. Supp. 1229 | 18 |
| 1992 | Workman v. Chinchinian | 807 F. Supp. 634 | 18 |
| 2002 | World Wide Video of Washington, Inc. v. City of Spokane | 227 F. Supp. 2d 1143 | 15 |
| 1994 | United States v. Heitzman | 886 F. Supp. 737 | 15 |
| 1995 | United States v. Tamez | 881 F. Supp. 460 | 14 |
| 1994 | United States v. Aguilar | 886 F. Supp. 740 | 14 |
| 1991 | United States v. White | 766 F. Supp. 873 | 13 |
| 2002 | Gausvik v. Perez | 239 F. Supp. 2d 1067 | 12 |
| 1993 | Hanford Downwinders Coalition, Inc. v. Dowdle | 841 F. Supp. 1050 | 11 |
| 2006 | City of Moses Lake v. United States | 458 F. Supp. 2d 1198 | 10 |
| 2006 | City of Moses Lake v. United States | 430 F. Supp. 2d 1164 | 10 |
| 1993 | Heart of America Northwest v. Westinghouse Hanford Co. | 820 F. Supp. 1265 | 10 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 57 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Alan Angus McDonald?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Alan Angus McDonald to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in 1985.
- Was Alan Angus McDonald appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Alan Angus McDonald was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Alan Angus McDonald's confirmation vote?
- Alan Angus McDonald was confirmed by voice vote on October 16, 1985. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Alan Angus McDonald on?
- Alan Angus McDonald was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
21 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).