Carl John Nichols
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2019 and confirmed by the Senate 55–43, Carl John Nichols is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He earned a law degree from University of Chicago Law School in 1996. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1970 · age 56
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2019
- Confirmed
- 55–43
- Education
- Dartmouth College 1992 · University of Chicago Law School 1996
- Succeeded
- Richard W. Roberts
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | District of Columbia succeeded Richard W. Roberts | Trump (R) | 55–43 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 55–43 on May 22, 2019 · 116th Congress, Roll Call 125. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 55
3 D, 52 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Marsha Blackburn(R-TN)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Mike Braun(R-IN)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Kevin Cramer(R-ND)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Josh Hawley(R-MO)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-MS)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Doug Jones(D-AL)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joseph Manchin(D-WV)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Martha McSally(R-AZ)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mitt Romney(R-UT)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Rick Scott(R-FL)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Kyrsten Sinema(D-AZ)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Voted against · 43
41 D, 2 I
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Jacklyn Rosen(D-NV)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Tina Smith(D-MN)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 2
1 D, 1 R
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
Education
| Dartmouth College | A.B. | 1992 |
| University of Chicago Law School | J.D. | 1996 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Nichols was assigned 1,480 district-court cases (2006–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 244 days across 872 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 74 of Nichols’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 50 were affirmed, 17 reversed or vacated, and 7 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Nichols authored 341 published opinions for the court (2019–2026).
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
Showing the 15 most-cited of 341 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 Carl John Nichols?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Carl John Nichols to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2019.
- Was Carl John Nichols appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Carl John Nichols was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Carl John Nichols's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Carl John Nichols 55–43 on May 22, 2019.
- Which court is Carl John Nichols on?
- Carl John Nichols is 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: United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2019)
- 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.
7 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).