Bolitha James Laws
Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 and confirmed by voice vote, Bolitha James Laws was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He earned a law degree from Georgetown College Law School (now Georgetown University Law Center) in 1913. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1891–1958
- Appointed by
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1938
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Georgetown College Law School (now Georgetown Law Center) 1913
- Succeeded by
- Leonard Patrick Walsh
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | District of Columbia | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | Voice vote |
| 1945 | District of Columbia succeeded Edward Clayton Eicher | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | Voice vote |
| 1948 | District of Columbia | Reassigned | – |
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
| Georgetown College Law School (now Georgetown University Law Center) | LL.B. | 1913 |
| Georgetown College Law School (now Georgetown University Law Center) | LL.M. | 1914 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Laws authored 18 published opinions for the court (1946–1956). Most cited: White v. Reid (37 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | White v. Reid | 125 F. Supp. 647 | 37 |
| 1953 | Societe Internationale Pour Participations Industrielles Et Commerciales, S. A. v. McGranery | 111 F. Supp. 435 | 34 |
| 1955 | United States v. Bell | 126 F. Supp. 612 | 30 |
| 1954 | White v. Reid | 126 F. Supp. 867 | 21 |
| 1953 | United States v. Pete | 111 F. Supp. 292 | 20 |
| 1954 | United States v. Kelly | 119 F. Supp. 217 | 19 |
| 1947 | United States v. Waters | 73 F. Supp. 72 | 19 |
| 1953 | United States v. Johnson | 113 F. Supp. 359 | 16 |
| 1956 | United States v. Bowman | 137 F. Supp. 385 | 15 |
| 1954 | United States v. Bell | 120 F. Supp. 670 | 13 |
| 1950 | Tansey v. Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. | 97 F. Supp. 458 | 13 |
| 1947 | Gomez v. United Office and Professional Workers | 73 F. Supp. 679 | 13 |
| 1946 | United States v. McWilliams | 69 F. Supp. 812 | 11 |
| 1952 | Federal Trial Examiners Conference v. Ramspeck | 104 F. Supp. 734 | 8 |
| 1954 | Torok v. Watson | 122 F. Supp. 788 | 7 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 18 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 Bolitha James Laws?
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Bolitha James Laws to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 1938.
- Was Bolitha James Laws appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Bolitha James Laws was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Bolitha James Laws's confirmation vote?
- Bolitha James Laws was confirmed by voice vote on June 16, 1938. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Bolitha James Laws on?
- Bolitha James Laws was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Abbie Rowe (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- 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.
20 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).