Who appointed Bernard Martin Decker?

President John F. Kennedy appointed Bernard Martin Decker to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1963.

Was Bernard Martin Decker appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Bernard Martin Decker was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Bernard Martin Decker's confirmation vote?

Bernard Martin Decker was confirmed by voice vote on March 28, 1963. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Northern District of Illinois / Appointed 1963 / Served to 1993

Bernard Martin Decker

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

Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and confirmed by voice vote, Bernard Martin Decker was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1929. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1904–1993
Appointed by: John F. Kennedy, 1963
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: University of Illinois 1926 · Harvard Law School 1929
Succeeded by: John Albert Nordberg

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1963	Northern District of Illinois	Kennedy (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

University of Illinois	A.B.	1926
Harvard Law School	LL.B.	1929

Judicial Record

In our data, Decker authored 164 published opinions for the court (1963–1987). Most cited: State of Illinois v. Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. (89 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1969	State of Illinois v. Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.	301 F. Supp. 484	89
1976	Lincoln National Bank v. Lampe	414 F. Supp. 1270	66
1969	Sanberg v. Daley	306 F. Supp. 277	58
1965	Keckler v. Brookwood Country Club	248 F. Supp. 645	47
1965	Smith-Victor Corporation v. Sylvania Electric Products, Inc.	242 F. Supp. 302	46
1970	Schaefer v. First National Bank of Lincolnwood	326 F. Supp. 1186	45
1980	North Barrington Development, Inc. v. Fanslow	547 F. Supp. 207	43
1987	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Dodd (In Re Dodd)	82 B.R. 924	38
1975	United States Dental Institute v. American Association of Orthodontists	396 F. Supp. 565	38
1966	Ye Olde Tavern Cheese Products, Inc. v. Planters Peanuts Division, Standard Brands Inc.	261 F. Supp. 200	33
1977	Kanter v. Internal Revenue Service	433 F. Supp. 812	32
1976	Bertrand v. Orkin Exterminating Co., Inc.	419 F. Supp. 1123	32
1979	Pinto v. Zenith Radio Corp.	480 F. Supp. 361	31
1987	International Korwin Corp. v. Kowalczyk	665 F. Supp. 652	30
1977	Timmreck v. Munn	433 F. Supp. 396	30

Showing the 15 most-cited of 164 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 Bernard Martin Decker?: President John F. Kennedy appointed Bernard Martin Decker to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1963.
Was Bernard Martin Decker appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Bernard Martin Decker was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Bernard Martin Decker's confirmation vote?: Bernard Martin Decker was confirmed by voice vote on March 28, 1963. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Bernard Martin Decker on?: Bernard Martin Decker was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Sources

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

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