Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr.
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and confirmed by voice vote, Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1952. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1928–1998
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1977
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Chief judge
- Third Circuit, 1990 to 1991
- Education
- Antioch College 1949 · Yale Law School 1952
- Succeeded
- Francis Lund Van Dusen
- Succeeded by
- Theodore Alexander McKee
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Eastern District of Pennsylvania succeeded James Cullen Ganey | L.B. Johnson (D) | Voice vote |
| 1977 | Third Circuit succeeded Francis Lund Van Dusen chief judge 1990 to 1991 | Carter (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
| Antioch College | B.A. | 1949 |
| Yale Law School | LL.B. | 1952 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Law clerk, Hon. Curtis Bok, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County [Pennsylvania] | 1952-1953 |
| Assistant district attorney, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania | 1953-1954 |
| Private practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1954-1962 |
| Special deputy attorney general, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | 1956-1962 |
| Special hearing officer for conscientious objectors, U.S. Department of Justice | 1960-1962 |
| Commissioner, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission | 1961-1962 |
| Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission | 1962-1964 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 1990 |
| Private practice, New York City and Washington, D.C. | 1993-1998 |
| Professor, Harvard University | 1993-1998 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Higginbotham authored 103 published opinions for the court (1964–1980). Most cited: Knuckles v. Prasse (66 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Knuckles v. Prasse | 302 F. Supp. 1036 | 66 |
| 1976 | Saldana v. Weinberger | 421 F. Supp. 1127 | 61 |
| 1974 | Pennsylvania v. Local Union 542, International Union of Operating Engineers | 388 F. Supp. 155 | 60 |
| 1975 | Umbriac v. American Snacks, Inc. | 388 F. Supp. 265 | 57 |
| 1971 | Shane v. Hobam, Incorporated | 332 F. Supp. 526 | 54 |
| 1977 | Drennon v. Philadelphia General Hospital | 428 F. Supp. 809 | 51 |
| 1975 | United States Ex Rel. Burgess v. Lindsey | 395 F. Supp. 404 | 51 |
| 1967 | Hennigan v. Atlantic Refining Company | 282 F. Supp. 667 | 49 |
| 1974 | Isaacs v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF TEMPLE UNIV., ETC. | 385 F. Supp. 473 | 43 |
| 1975 | Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. | 402 F. Supp. 262 | 37 |
| 1971 | Keiser v. Bell | 332 F. Supp. 608 | 35 |
| 1968 | Cooney v. Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company | 288 F. Supp. 708 | 35 |
| 1977 | Altemose Const. Co. v. BLDG. & CONST. TRADES COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA | 443 F. Supp. 489 | 34 |
| 1964 | John J. & Warren H. Graham v. Triangle Publications, Inc. | 233 F. Supp. 825 | 30 |
| 1973 | Cantor v. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | 353 F. Supp. 1307 | 28 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 103 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 Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr.?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1977.
- Was Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on October 7, 1977. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. on?
- Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: White House photographer (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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15 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).