Northern District of California / Appointed 1961 / Served to 1995

Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and confirmed by voice vote, Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He earned a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence in 1928. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived
1905–1995
Appointed by
John F. Kennedy, 1961
Confirmed
by voice vote
Education
University of California, Berkeley 1926 · University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence 1928

Federal judicial service

YearCourtAppointed byVote
1961Northern District of CaliforniaKennedy (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

Judicial Record

In our data, Zirpoli authored 76 published opinions for the court (1962–1988). Most cited: Clutchette v. Procunier (99 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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

YearCaseCitationCited
1971Clutchette v. Procunier328 F. Supp. 76799
1972Brenneman v. Madigan343 F. Supp. 12886
1972Sierra Club v. Butz349 F. Supp. 93475
1964Swanson v. United States229 F. Supp. 21753
1976Saint Francis Memorial Hospital v. Weinberger413 F. Supp. 32337
1974In Re Gypsum Cases386 F. Supp. 95937
1971Wall Products Co. v. National Gypsum Co.326 F. Supp. 29530
1970Application of Caldwell311 F. Supp. 35827
1963In Re Farmers Frozen Food Company221 F. Supp. 38526
1977In Re Consol. Pretrial Proceedings in Air West436 F. Supp. 128125
1969United States v. MacHado306 F. Supp. 99523
1976Spain v. Procunier408 F. Supp. 53421
1973Palmer v. Wilson359 F. Supp. 109921
1969Grimm v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation300 F. Supp. 98421
1972Legal Aid Society of Alameda County v. Shultz349 F. Supp. 77120

Showing the 15 most-cited of 76 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 Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli?
President John F. Kennedy appointed Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1961.
Was Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli's confirmation vote?
Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli was confirmed by voice vote on September 21, 1961. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli on?
Alfonso Joseph Zirpoli was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

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33 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).