Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1997 and confirmed by voice vote, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She earned a law degree from Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 1968. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1943 · age 83
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1997
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Catholic of America 1965 · Catholic of America, Columbus Law 1968
- Succeeded
- Harold H. Greene
- Succeeded by
- Ana Cecilia Reyes
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | District of Columbia succeeded Harold H. Greene | Clinton (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
| Catholic University of America | B.A. | 1965 |
| Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law | J.D. | 1968 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Kollar-Kotelly was assigned 3,812 district-court cases (1976–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 246 days across 3,172 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 379 of Kollar-Kotelly’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 283 were affirmed, 63 reversed or vacated, and 33 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, Kollar-Kotelly authored 188 published opinions for the court (2023–2026).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 188 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 Colleen Kollar-Kotelly?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 1997.
- Was Colleen Kollar-Kotelly appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Colleen Kollar-Kotelly was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's confirmation vote?
- Colleen Kollar-Kotelly was confirmed by voice vote on March 20, 1997. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on?
- Colleen Kollar-Kotelly 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: Unknown author (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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29 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).