Claude M. Hilton
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and confirmed by voice vote, Claude M. Hilton is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He earned a law degree from American University, Washington College of Law in 1966. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1940 · age 86
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1985
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Ohio State 1963 · American, Washington College of Law 1966
- Succeeded by
- Liam O'Grady
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Eastern District of Virginia | Reagan (R) | 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
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Hilton was assigned 9,344 district-court cases (1985–2025). Median time from filing to termination: 140 days across 9,167 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 555 of Hilton’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 468 were affirmed, 61 reversed or vacated, and 26 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, Hilton authored 117 published opinions for the court (1985–2012). Most cited: International Ass'n of Fire Fighters, Local 2141 v. City of Alexandria (55 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | International Ass'n of Fire Fighters, Local 2141 v. City of Alexandria | 720 F. Supp. 1230 | 55 |
| 2004 | Davis v. Stanford | 382 F. Supp. 2d 814 | 50 |
| 1989 | Hartman v. Arlington County, Va. | 720 F. Supp. 1227 | 34 |
| 2000 | Deblasio v. Johnson | 128 F. Supp. 2d 315 | 23 |
| 1992 | Lands' End, Inc. v. Manback | 797 F. Supp. 511 | 23 |
| 1992 | Doyle v. Arlington County School Board | 806 F. Supp. 1253 | 22 |
| 1988 | In Re Epic Mortgage Insurance Litigation | 701 F. Supp. 1192 | 22 |
| 2000 | People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. v. Doughney | 113 F. Supp. 2d 915 | 21 |
| 1999 | Doe v. Arlington County School Board | 41 F. Supp. 2d 599 | 20 |
| 1995 | Long v. First Union Corp. of Virginia | 894 F. Supp. 933 | 20 |
| 1989 | Hoey v. Dexel Systems Corp. | 716 F. Supp. 222 | 20 |
| 2002 | Oliver v. Powell | 250 F. Supp. 2d 593 | 19 |
| 1990 | Meridian Title Insurance v. Lilly Homes, Inc. | 735 F. Supp. 182 | 19 |
| 1993 | Johnson v. Colonial Pipeline Co. | 830 F. Supp. 309 | 18 |
| 1992 | Awalt v. Whalen | 809 F. Supp. 414 | 18 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 117 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 Claude M. Hilton?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Claude M. Hilton to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in 1985.
- Was Claude M. Hilton appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Claude M. Hilton was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Claude M. Hilton's confirmation vote?
- Claude M. Hilton was confirmed by voice vote on July 10, 1985. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Claude M. Hilton on?
- Claude M. Hilton is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- 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.
41 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).