Diane Pamela Wood
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1995 and confirmed by voice vote, Diane Pamela Wood was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She earned a law degree from University of Texas School of Law in 1975. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1950 · age 76
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1995
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Chief judge
- Seventh Circuit, 2013 to 2020
- Education
- University of Texas 1971 · University of Texas Law 1975
- Succeeded
- William Joseph Bauer
- Succeeded by
- John Zihun Lee
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Seventh Circuit succeeded William Joseph Bauer chief judge 2013 to 2020 | 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 Texas | B.A. | 1971 |
| University of Texas School of Law | J.D. | 1975 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Law clerk, Hon. Irving Goldberg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | 1975-1976 |
| Law clerk, Hon. Harry Blackmun, Supreme Court of the United States | 1976-1977 |
| Attorney-advisor, Office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of State | 1977-1978 |
| Private practice, Washington, D.C. | 1978-1980 |
| Assistant professor of law, Georgetown University | 1980-1981 |
| Faculty, University of Chicago, 1981-1995; assistant professor, 1981-1988; professor, 1988-1995; associate dean | 1989-1992 |
| Special assistant to the assistant attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice | 1985-1987 |
| Deputy assistant attorney general for international, appellate, and policy, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice | 1993-1995 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 2013-2020 |
| Director, American Law Institute | 2023- |
Judicial Record
In our data, Wood authored 578 published opinions for the court (2009–2022). Most cited: Alfredo Miranda v. County of Lake (1,475 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Alfredo Miranda v. County of Lake | 900 F.3d 335 | 1,475 |
| 2013 | Michael Alexander v. United States | 721 F.3d 418 | 1,324 |
| 2019 | Tapanga Hardeman v. David Wathen | 933 F.3d 816 | 656 |
| 2018 | Roy Mitchell, Jr. v. Kevin Kallas | 895 F.3d 492 | 614 |
| 2016 | Calvin Whiting v. Wexford Health Sources, Incorp | 839 F.3d 658 | 593 |
| 2017 | Alma Glisson v. Correctional Medical Services | 849 F.3d 372 | 531 |
| 2016 | Marcos Gray v. Marcus Hardy | 826 F.3d 1000 | 468 |
| 2017 | Ashoor Rasho v. Willard Elyea | 856 F.3d 469 | 465 |
| 2015 | Richard Wagoner v. Indiana Department of Correcti | 778 F.3d 586 | 411 |
| 2014 | Advanced Tactical Ordnance Systems, LLC v. Real Action Paintball, Inc. | 751 F.3d 796 | 374 |
| 2017 | Charles Beal, Jr. v. James Beller | 847 F.3d 897 | 337 |
| 2019 | Paula Casillas v. Madison Avenue Associates, Inc | 926 F.3d 329 | 304 |
| 2017 | Cynthia Archer v. John Chisholm | 870 F.3d 603 | 274 |
| 2015 | Hilary Remijas v. Neiman Marcus Group, LLC | 794 F.3d 688 | 234 |
| 2019 | Clarisha Benson v. Fannie May Confections Brands | 944 F.3d 639 | 233 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 578 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 Diane Pamela Wood?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Diane Pamela Wood to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1995.
- Was Diane Pamela Wood appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Diane Pamela Wood was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Diane Pamela Wood's confirmation vote?
- Diane Pamela Wood was confirmed by voice vote on June 30, 1995. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Diane Pamela Wood on?
- Diane Pamela Wood was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Linda Rux (CC BY-SA 3.0), 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.
28 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).