Who appointed Colin Stirling Bruce?

President Barack Obama appointed Colin Stirling Bruce to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in 2013.

Was Colin Stirling Bruce appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Colin Stirling Bruce was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Colin Stirling Bruce's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Colin Stirling Bruce 96–0 on October 7, 2013.

Central District of Illinois / Appointed 2013 / Active

Colin Stirling Bruce

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

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed by the Senate 96–0, Colin Stirling Bruce is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. He earned a law degree from University of Illinois College of Law in 1989. Sources ↓

Born: 1965 · age 61
Appointed by: Barack Obama, 2013
Confirmed: 96–0
Education: University of Illinois 1986 · University of Illinois College of Law 1989
Succeeded: Michael Patrick McCuskey

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2013	Central District of Illinois succeeded Michael Patrick McCuskey	Obama (D)	96–0

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.

Confirmation vote

Nomination Confirmed 96–0 on October 7, 2013 · 113th Congress, Roll Call 213. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 96

51 D, 43 R, 2 I

Did not vote · 4

1 D, 3 R

Bob Casey(D-PA)
Tom Coburn(R-OK)
Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
Marco Rubio(R-FL)

Education

University of Illinois	B.A.	1986
University of Illinois College of Law	J.D.	1989

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Bruce was assigned 3,911 district-court cases (2000–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 240 days across 3,220 closed cases.

Other civil matters32%

Prisoner & habeas23%

Civil rights18%

Personal-injury torts5%

Other federal statutes5%

Labor & ERISA5%

Other13%

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 131 of Bruce’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 86 were affirmed, 24 reversed or vacated, and 21 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.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Colin Stirling Bruce?: President Barack Obama appointed Colin Stirling Bruce to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in 2013.
Was Colin Stirling Bruce appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Colin Stirling Bruce was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Colin Stirling Bruce's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Colin Stirling Bruce 96–0 on October 7, 2013.
Which court is Colin Stirling Bruce on?: Colin Stirling Bruce is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

Sources

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

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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