David Folsom
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1995 and confirmed by voice vote, David Folsom was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He earned a law degree from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1974. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1947 · age 79
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1995
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Arkansas 1969 · University of Arkansas Law 1974
- Succeeded
- Sam Blakeley Hall Jr.
- Succeeded by
- Robert William Schroeder III
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Eastern District of Texas succeeded Sam Blakeley Hall Jr. | 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
| University of Arkansas | B.A. | 1969 |
| University of Arkansas School of Law | J.D. | 1974 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Folsom was assigned 4,877 district-court cases (1989–2012). Median time from filing to termination: 280 days across 4,876 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 142 of Folsom’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 106 were affirmed, 17 reversed or vacated, and 19 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, Folsom authored 54 published opinions for the court (1995–2011). Most cited: QR Spex, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc. (44 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | QR Spex, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc. | 507 F. Supp. 2d 650 | 44 |
| 2003 | Westport Insurance v. Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P. | 267 F. Supp. 2d 601 | 44 |
| 2004 | Lockett v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | 337 F. Supp. 2d 887 | 26 |
| 1999 | In Re Triton Ltd. Securities Litigation | 70 F. Supp. 2d 678 | 25 |
| 1998 | Mieczkowski v. Masco Corp. | 997 F. Supp. 782 | 23 |
| 2000 | Brock v. Baskin-Robbins USA Co. | 113 F. Supp. 2d 1078 | 21 |
| 2006 | TiVo Inc. v. Echostar Communications Corp. | 446 F. Supp. 2d 664 | 20 |
| 2000 | In Re Texas | 110 F. Supp. 2d 514 | 18 |
| 1999 | Korte v. Allstate Insurance | 48 F. Supp. 2d 647 | 18 |
| 1999 | McNamara v. Bre-X Minerals Ltd. | 46 F. Supp. 2d 628 | 16 |
| 2008 | Decker v. Dunbar | 633 F. Supp. 2d 317 | 13 |
| 2000 | Milbrand v. DaimlerChrysler Corp. | 105 F. Supp. 2d 601 | 12 |
| 2006 | Datatreasury Corp. v. Wells Fargo & Co. | 490 F. Supp. 2d 749 | 10 |
| 2004 | Z-Tel Communications, Inc. v. SBC Communications, Inc. | 331 F. Supp. 2d 567 | 10 |
| 2009 | TiVo Inc. v. Dish Network Corp. | 640 F. Supp. 2d 853 | 9 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 54 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 David Folsom?
- President William J. Clinton appointed David Folsom to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in 1995.
- Was David Folsom appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- David Folsom was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was David Folsom's confirmation vote?
- David Folsom was confirmed by voice vote on March 17, 1995. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was David Folsom on?
- David Folsom was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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.
17 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).