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
- Chief judge
- District of Columbia Circuit, 2008 to 2013
- 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 chief judge 2008 to 2013 | 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
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Private practice, Asheville, North Carolina | 1968-1970 |
| Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of North Carolina | 1970-1974 |
| Judge, Mecklenburg County [North Carolina] District Court | 1974-1977 |
| Visiting professor, University of North Carolina, Charlotte | 1977 |
| Private practice, Charlotte, North Carolina | 1977-1985 |
| Visiting professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | 1991-1992 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 2008-2013 |
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
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
39 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).