Donald S. Voorhees
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1974 and confirmed by voice vote, Donald S. Voorhees was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1946. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1916–1989
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1974
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Kansas 1938 · Harvard Law School 1946
- Succeeded
- William Trulock Beeks
- Succeeded by
- William Lee Dwyer
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Western District of Washington succeeded William Trulock Beeks | 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 Kansas | A.B. | 1938 |
| Harvard Law School | J.D. | 1946 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Voorhees was assigned 27 district-court cases (1975–1986). Median time from filing to termination: 900 days across 27 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, Voorhees authored 14 published opinions for the court (1975–1987). Most cited: Vickers v. Veterans Administration (17 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Vickers v. Veterans Administration | 549 F. Supp. 85 | 17 |
| 1975 | Santino v. Liberian Distance Transports, Inc. | 405 F. Supp. 34 | 16 |
| 1986 | Hirabayashi v. United States | 627 F. Supp. 1445 | 7 |
| 1981 | Greene v. Union Pacific Railroad | 548 F. Supp. 3 | 7 |
| 1983 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Cudahy Foods Co. | 588 F. Supp. 13 | 6 |
| 1980 | Stevens v. Teamsters Local 2707, Airline, Aerospace & Allied Employees | 504 F. Supp. 332 | 6 |
| 1983 | Morrison v. Heckler | 582 F. Supp. 321 | 5 |
| 1985 | Collins v. State of Alaska | 621 F. Supp. 722 | 3 |
| 1982 | In Re Order Pursuant to Section 3013 (D) RCRA, Etc. | 550 F. Supp. 1361 | 3 |
| 1983 | Ford v. Green Giant Co. | 560 F. Supp. 275 | 2 |
| 1979 | SEATTLE SCHOOL DIST. NO. 1, ETC. v. State | 473 F. Supp. 996 | 2 |
| 1987 | Dong in Chung v. U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service | 662 F. Supp. 474 | 1 |
| 1986 | United States v. Aam | 670 F. Supp. 306 | 1 |
| 1985 | Rembold v. GIBRALTAR SAV. AND LOAN ASS'N | 624 F. Supp. 1006 | 1 |
Showing the 14 most-cited of 14 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 Donald S. Voorhees?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed Donald S. Voorhees to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in 1974.
- Was Donald S. Voorhees appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Donald S. Voorhees was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Donald S. Voorhees's confirmation vote?
- Donald S. Voorhees was confirmed by voice vote on June 13, 1974. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Donald S. Voorhees on?
- Donald S. Voorhees was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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.
15 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).