Aleta Arthur Trauger
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1998 and confirmed by voice vote, Aleta Arthur Trauger is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. She earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1976. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1945 · age 81
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1998
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa 1968 · Vanderbilt Law School 1976
- Succeeded
- John Trice Nixon
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Middle District of Tennessee succeeded John Trice Nixon | Clinton (D) | 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
| Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa | B.A. | 1968 |
| Vanderbilt University | M.A.T. | 1972 |
| Vanderbilt University Law School | J.D. | 1976 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Trauger was assigned 8,597 district-court cases (1991–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 155 days across 7,609 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 468 of Trauger’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 355 were affirmed, 73 reversed or vacated, and 40 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, Trauger authored 117 published opinions for the court (1999–2011). Most cited: Cardinal Health 414, Inc. v. Adams (31 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cardinal Health 414, Inc. v. Adams | 582 F. Supp. 2d 967 | 31 |
| 2008 | Jordan v. IBP, Inc. | 542 F. Supp. 2d 790 | 28 |
| 2010 | Smith v. PFIZER INC. | 688 F. Supp. 2d 735 | 27 |
| 2000 | March v. Levine | 136 F. Supp. 2d 831 | 23 |
| 2010 | Bearden v. Honeywell International Inc. | 720 F. Supp. 2d 932 | 21 |
| 2009 | Lee v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville | 596 F. Supp. 2d 1101 | 19 |
| 2011 | Norman v. ROLLING HILLS HOSPITAL, LLC | 820 F. Supp. 2d 814 | 16 |
| 2010 | Reitz v. City of Mt. Juliet | 680 F. Supp. 2d 888 | 16 |
| 2009 | United States v. Buford | 623 F. Supp. 2d 923 | 16 |
| 2008 | Permobil, Inc. v. American Express Travel Related Services Co. | 571 F. Supp. 2d 825 | 16 |
| 2002 | Al-Sadoon v. FISI MADISON FINANCIAL CORP. | 188 F. Supp. 2d 899 | 16 |
| 2007 | Harbison v. Little | 511 F. Supp. 2d 872 | 15 |
| 2003 | Fisher v. GE Medical Systems | 276 F. Supp. 2d 891 | 14 |
| 2000 | McDonald's Corp. v. Shop at Home, Inc. | 82 F. Supp. 2d 801 | 14 |
| 2010 | Fite v. Comtide Nashville, LLC | 686 F. Supp. 2d 735 | 13 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 117 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 Aleta Arthur Trauger?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Aleta Arthur Trauger to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in 1998.
- Was Aleta Arthur Trauger appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Aleta Arthur Trauger was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Aleta Arthur Trauger's confirmation vote?
- Aleta Arthur Trauger was confirmed by voice vote on October 21, 1998. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Aleta Arthur Trauger on?
- Aleta Arthur Trauger is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
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.
27 years on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).