Who appointed Bruce Rutherford Thompson?

President John F. Kennedy appointed Bruce Rutherford Thompson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in 1963.

Was Bruce Rutherford Thompson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Bruce Rutherford Thompson was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Bruce Rutherford Thompson's confirmation vote?

Bruce Rutherford Thompson was confirmed by voice vote on August 6, 1963. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

District of Nevada / Appointed 1963 / Served to 1992

Bruce Rutherford Thompson

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada

Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and confirmed by voice vote, Bruce Rutherford Thompson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. He earned a law degree from Stanford Law School in 1936. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1911–1992
Appointed by: John F. Kennedy, 1963
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: University of Nevada, Reno 1932 · Stanford Law School 1936
Succeeded: John Rolly Ross
Succeeded by: Harry E. Claiborne

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1963	District of Nevada succeeded John Rolly Ross	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 Nevada, Reno	A.B.	1932
Stanford Law School	LL.B.	1936

Judicial Record

In our data, Thompson authored 90 published opinions for the court (1963–1991). Most cited: Wirtz v. Local Union 169, International Hod Carriers', Building & Common Laborers' Union of America, AFL-CIO (43 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1965	Wirtz v. Local Union 169, International Hod Carriers', Building & Common Laborers' Union of America, AFL-CIO	246 F. Supp. 741	43
1980	United States v. Alpine Land & Reservoir Co.	503 F. Supp. 877	41
1968	TV Pix, Inc. v. Taylor	304 F. Supp. 459	37
1975	Craig v. Hocker	405 F. Supp. 656	26
1966	Wirtz v. Basic Incorporated	256 F. Supp. 786	26
1976	United States v. One (1) 1973 Ford Ltd, Serial No. 3J66S132017	409 F. Supp. 741	23
1980	Dotson v. Bradford (In Re Bradford)	6 B.R. 741	21
1980	Mullis v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith	492 F. Supp. 1345	19
1969	Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. v. Fielding	309 F. Supp. 1146	19
1978	Lakeside Community Hospital v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency	461 F. Supp. 1150	15
1967	United States v. Sherman Gardens Company	298 F. Supp. 1332	15
1963	United States v. Salerno	222 F. Supp. 664	15
1976	Application of Floyd	413 F. Supp. 574	14
1964	Martarano v. United States	231 F. Supp. 805	14
1980	International Patent Development Corp. v. Wyomont Partners	489 F. Supp. 226	13

Showing the 15 most-cited of 90 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 Bruce Rutherford Thompson?: President John F. Kennedy appointed Bruce Rutherford Thompson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in 1963.
Was Bruce Rutherford Thompson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Bruce Rutherford Thompson was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Bruce Rutherford Thompson's confirmation vote?: Bruce Rutherford Thompson was confirmed by voice vote on August 6, 1963. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Bruce Rutherford Thompson on?: Bruce Rutherford Thompson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Sources

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

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