David Welford Williams
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1969 and confirmed by voice vote, David Welford Williams was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He earned a law degree from University of Southern California Law School (now Gould School of Law) in 1937. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1910–2000
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1969
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of California, Los Angeles 1934 · University of Southern California Law School (now Gould Law) 1937
- Succeeded
- Peirson Mitchell Hall
- Succeeded by
- Edward Rafeedie
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Central District of California succeeded Peirson Mitchell Hall | Nixon (R) | 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 California, Los Angeles | A.B. | 1934 |
| University of Southern California Law School (now Gould School of Law) | LL.B. | 1937 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Williams was assigned 410 district-court cases (1979–2000). Median time from filing to termination: 242 days across 410 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, Williams authored 51 published opinions for the court (1969–1998). Most cited: Edinburgh Assurance Co. v. R. L. Burns Corp. (26 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Edinburgh Assurance Co. v. R. L. Burns Corp. | 479 F. Supp. 138 | 26 |
| 1971 | Rutledge v. Electric Hose and Rubber Company | 327 F. Supp. 1267 | 21 |
| 1984 | Zaldivar v. City of Los Angeles | 590 F. Supp. 852 | 20 |
| 1977 | Kass v. Arden-Mayfair, Inc. | 431 F. Supp. 1037 | 19 |
| 1972 | Dubrow v. Small Business Administration | 345 F. Supp. 4 | 18 |
| 1970 | Local 246, Utility Workers Union of America v. Southern California Edison Co. | 320 F. Supp. 1262 | 18 |
| 1972 | Shaffer v. Field | 339 F. Supp. 997 | 17 |
| 1970 | Rising v. Brown | 313 F. Supp. 824 | 13 |
| 1990 | In Re Rheuban | 124 B.R. 301 | 12 |
| 1974 | Hughes Aircraft Company v. Schlesinger | 384 F. Supp. 292 | 12 |
| 1975 | Houston v. Nelson | 404 F. Supp. 1108 | 11 |
| 1971 | Arnesen v. Raymond Lee Organization, Inc. | 333 F. Supp. 116 | 11 |
| 1984 | Elser v. I.A.M. National Pension Fund | 579 F. Supp. 1375 | 10 |
| 1971 | Winsby v. Walsh | 321 F. Supp. 523 | 10 |
| 1976 | Clayton v. McDonnell Douglas Corp. | 419 F. Supp. 28 | 9 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 51 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 Welford Williams?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed David Welford Williams to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 1969.
- Was David Welford Williams appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- David Welford Williams was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was David Welford Williams's confirmation vote?
- David Welford Williams was confirmed by voice vote on June 19, 1969. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was David Welford Williams on?
- David Welford Williams was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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.
30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).