Edward James Devitt
Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955 and confirmed by voice vote, Edward James Devitt was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. He earned a law degree from University of North Dakota School of Law in 1935. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1911–1992
- Appointed by
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1955
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of North Dakota 1938 · University of North Dakota Law 1935
- Succeeded
- Matthew M. Joyce
- Succeeded by
- Paul Arthur Magnuson
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | District of Minnesota succeeded Matthew M. Joyce | Eisenhower (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 North Dakota School of Law | LL.B. | 1935 |
| University of North Dakota | B.S. | 1938 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Devitt was assigned 357 district-court cases (1982–1992). Median time from filing to termination: 470 days across 357 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, Devitt authored 240 published opinions for the court (1955–1991). Most cited: FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION v. Carlson (46 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION v. Carlson | 698 F. Supp. 178 | 46 |
| 1981 | Hagert v. Glickman, Lurie, Eiger & Co. | 520 F. Supp. 1028 | 39 |
| 1984 | Van Berkel v. Fox Farm and Road MacHinery | 581 F. Supp. 1248 | 38 |
| 1963 | Campbell v. Glenwood Hills Hospital, Inc. | 224 F. Supp. 27 | 38 |
| 1955 | United States v. Brennan | 134 F. Supp. 42 | 38 |
| 1971 | United States v. Otter Tail Power Company | 331 F. Supp. 54 | 35 |
| 1991 | Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Swager | 773 F. Supp. 1244 | 34 |
| 1973 | United States v. Otter Tail Power Company | 360 F. Supp. 451 | 34 |
| 1980 | United States v. Ming Sen Shiue | 504 F. Supp. 360 | 32 |
| 1990 | United States v. Fitol | 733 F. Supp. 1312 | 29 |
| 1979 | In Re Grand Jury Proceedings Involving Berkley & Co. | 466 F. Supp. 863 | 29 |
| 1978 | Fox Chemical Co. v. Amsoil, Inc. | 445 F. Supp. 1355 | 28 |
| 1956 | Willys Motors, Inc. v. Northwest Kaiser-Willys, Inc. | 142 F. Supp. 469 | 28 |
| 1979 | Gilderhus v. Amoco Oil Co. | 470 F. Supp. 1302 | 27 |
| 1976 | Insurers' Action Council, Inc. v. Heaton | 423 F. Supp. 921 | 24 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 240 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 Edward James Devitt?
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Edward James Devitt to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 1955.
- Was Edward James Devitt appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Edward James Devitt was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Edward James Devitt's confirmation vote?
- Edward James Devitt was confirmed by voice vote on February 4, 1955. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Edward James Devitt on?
- Edward James Devitt was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Photo Historian of the United States House of Representatives (Washington, DC). (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.
37 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).