Donnell Gilliam
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1945 and confirmed by voice vote, Donnell Gilliam was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He earned a law degree from University of North Carolina School of Law in 1910. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1889–1960
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1945
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of North Carolina 1909 · University of North Carolina Law 1910
- Succeeded
- Isaac Melson Meekins
- Succeeded by
- Algernon Lee Butler
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Eastern District of North Carolina succeeded Isaac Melson Meekins | Truman (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
Judicial Record
In our data, Gilliam authored 35 published opinions for the court (1946–1958). Most cited: United States Ex Rel. Color Craft Corp. v. Dickstein (18 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | United States Ex Rel. Color Craft Corp. v. Dickstein | 157 F. Supp. 126 | 18 |
| 1954 | Jones v. United States | 127 F. Supp. 31 | 16 |
| 1952 | Wallis v. United States | 102 F. Supp. 211 | 16 |
| 1955 | Satterwhite v. Bocelato | 130 F. Supp. 825 | 14 |
| 1954 | Sanders v. Meyerstein | 124 F. Supp. 77 | 13 |
| 1953 | United States v. Southerly Portion of Bodie Island, NC | 114 F. Supp. 427 | 13 |
| 1956 | Butler v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company | 140 F. Supp. 601 | 12 |
| 1952 | Watson v. Providence Washington Ins. Co. | 106 F. Supp. 244 | 12 |
| 1955 | State of North Carolina v. United States | 128 F. Supp. 718 | 11 |
| 1952 | Kornegay v. Hardware Mut. Fire Ins. Co. | 106 F. Supp. 347 | 11 |
| 1954 | Ritzman v. Trent | 125 F. Supp. 664 | 10 |
| 1954 | Cronenberg v. United States | 123 F. Supp. 693 | 10 |
| 1956 | United States v. Perry | 141 F. Supp. 443 | 9 |
| 1954 | Gulf Atlantic Transp. Co. v. Becker County Sand & Gravel Co. | 122 F. Supp. 13 | 9 |
| 1950 | Harward v. General Motors Corporation | 89 F. Supp. 170 | 9 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 35 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 Donnell Gilliam?
- President Harry S Truman appointed Donnell Gilliam to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in 1945.
- Was Donnell Gilliam appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Donnell Gilliam was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Donnell Gilliam's confirmation vote?
- Donnell Gilliam was confirmed by voice vote on May 15, 1945. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Donnell Gilliam on?
- Donnell Gilliam was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author (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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14 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).