David Bryan Sentelle
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and confirmed by the Senate 87–0, David Bryan Sentelle is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of North Carolina School of Law in 1968. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1943 · age 83
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1987
- Confirmed
- 87–0
- Education
- University of North Carolina 1965 · University of North Carolina Law 1968
- Succeeded
- Antonin Scalia
- Succeeded by
- Robert Leon Wilkins
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Western District of North Carolina succeeded Woodrow Wilson Jones | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
| 1987 | District of Columbia Circuit succeeded Antonin Scalia | Reagan (R) | 87–0 |
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
The Senate’s published per-senator roll-call records begin in 1989, so no senator-by-senator breakdown is available for this vote.
Education
Judicial Record
In our data, Sentelle authored 16 published opinions for the court (1985–1987). Most cited: Gardner v. Asbestos Corp., Ltd. (8 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Gardner v. Asbestos Corp., Ltd. | 634 F. Supp. 609 | 8 |
| 1986 | Griffin v. Tenneco Resins, Inc. | 648 F. Supp. 964 | 7 |
| 1986 | Champion International Corp. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency | 648 F. Supp. 1390 | 6 |
| 1987 | Stiles v. Chloride, Inc. | 668 F. Supp. 505 | 5 |
| 1987 | Younce v. United States | 661 F. Supp. 482 | 4 |
| 1986 | English v. Pabst Brewing Co. | 645 F. Supp. 186 | 4 |
| 1986 | Ehlenbeck v. Patton (In Re Patton) | 58 B.R. 149 | 4 |
| 1986 | Tarantino v. North Carolina | 639 F. Supp. 661 | 3 |
| 1985 | United States v. Canane | 622 F. Supp. 279 | 3 |
| 1987 | Champion International Corp. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency | 652 F. Supp. 1398 | 2 |
| 1986 | Hendon v. North Carolina State Board of Elections | 633 F. Supp. 454 | 2 |
| 1987 | Ratcliff v. Buncombe County, NC | 663 F. Supp. 1003 | 1 |
| 1987 | Haley v. United States | 654 F. Supp. 481 | 1 |
| 1986 | McDowell v. Moore | 635 F. Supp. 280 | 1 |
| 1986 | Livingston v. INTERNATIONAL ASS'N OF BRIDGE | 647 F. Supp. 723 | 0 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 16 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 Bryan Sentelle?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed David Bryan Sentelle to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1987.
- Was David Bryan Sentelle appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- David Bryan Sentelle was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was David Bryan Sentelle's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed David Bryan Sentelle 87–0 on September 9, 1987.
- Which court is David Bryan Sentelle on?
- David Bryan Sentelle is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (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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38 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).