Daniel Holcombe Thomas
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1951 and confirmed by voice vote, Daniel Holcombe Thomas was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. He earned a law degree from University of Alabama School of Law in 1928. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1906–2000
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1951
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Alabama Law 1928
- Succeeded
- John McDuffie
- Succeeded by
- William Brevard Hand
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Southern District of Alabama succeeded John McDuffie | Truman (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 Alabama School of Law | LL.B. | 1928 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Thomas was assigned 445 district-court cases (1984–2001). Median time from filing to termination: 298 days across 442 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.
In our data, Thomas authored 83 published opinions for the court (1952–1992). Most cited: United States v. Clark (41 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 | United States v. Clark | 249 F. Supp. 720 | 41 |
| 1958 | Jemison v. the Dredge Duplex | 163 F. Supp. 947 | 24 |
| 1976 | Simmons v. American Mutual Liability Insurance | 433 F. Supp. 747 | 18 |
| 1971 | Dudley v. Bayou Fabricators, Inc. | 330 F. Supp. 788 | 15 |
| 1962 | Waterman Steamship Corporation v. United States | 203 F. Supp. 915 | 15 |
| 1958 | United Steelworkers of America v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co. | 168 F. Supp. 702 | 14 |
| 1979 | Simmons v. Pulmosan Safety Equipment Corp. | 471 F. Supp. 999 | 13 |
| 1964 | Moore v. Moore | 229 F. Supp. 435 | 13 |
| 1952 | United States v. Crolich | 101 F. Supp. 782 | 13 |
| 1979 | Grice v. A/S J. LUDWIG MOWINCKELS | 477 F. Supp. 365 | 12 |
| 1974 | E. C. Ernst, Inc. v. Manhattan Construction Co. | 387 F. Supp. 1001 | 12 |
| 1963 | General Engine & MacHine Works, Inc. v. Slay | 222 F. Supp. 745 | 12 |
| 1955 | L. L. Jarrell Construction Co. v. Columbia Casualty Co. | 130 F. Supp. 436 | 12 |
| 1962 | Roberts v. Wood | 206 F. Supp. 579 | 11 |
| 1978 | Kwak Hyung Rok v. Continental Seafoods, Inc. | 462 F. Supp. 894 | 10 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 83 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 Daniel Holcombe Thomas?
- President Harry S Truman appointed Daniel Holcombe Thomas to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in 1951.
- Was Daniel Holcombe Thomas appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Daniel Holcombe Thomas was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Daniel Holcombe Thomas's confirmation vote?
- Daniel Holcombe Thomas was confirmed by voice vote on March 6, 1951. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Daniel Holcombe Thomas on?
- Daniel Holcombe Thomas was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
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.
49 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).