Who appointed Francis C. Whelan?

President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Francis C. Whelan to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 1964.

Was Francis C. Whelan appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Francis C. Whelan was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Francis C. Whelan's confirmation vote?

Francis C. Whelan was confirmed by voice vote on September 15, 1964. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Central District of California / Appointed 1966 / Served to 1991

Francis C. Whelan

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and confirmed by voice vote, Francis C. Whelan was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He earned a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence in 1932. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1907–1991
Appointed by: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: San Diego State College 1928 · University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence 1932
Succeeded by: Mariana R. Pfaelzer

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1964	Southern District of California succeeded Leon Rene Yankwich	L.B. Johnson (D)	Voice vote
1966	Central District of California	Reassigned	–

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

San Diego State College	B.A.	1928
University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence	J.D., LL.B.	1932

Judicial Record

In our data, Whelan authored 23 published opinions for the court (1966–1987). Most cited: Kmla Broadcasting Corp. v. Twentieth Century Cigarette Vendors Corp. (29 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1967	Kmla Broadcasting Corp. v. Twentieth Century Cigarette Vendors Corp.	264 F. Supp. 35	29
1966	Galindo v. Brownell	255 F. Supp. 930	19
1976	ROCKLAND INSTITUTE, DIV. OF AMISTAD VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, INC. v. Ass'n of Independent Colleges and Schools	412 F. Supp. 1015	17
1975	Krystal v. British Overseas Airways Corporation	403 F. Supp. 1322	17
1987	Schoenbaum v. Orange County Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.	677 F. Supp. 1036	14
1969	Cantillon v. SUPERIOR COURT, ST. OF CAL., CTY. OF LOS ANGELES	305 F. Supp. 304	11
1973	Retail Clerks Union, Local 770 v. Retail Clerks International Ass'n	359 F. Supp. 1285	9
1972	City of Los Angeles v. United States	355 F. Supp. 461	8
1977	Allen v. United States	439 F. Supp. 463	6
1974	Steiner v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs	377 F. Supp. 945	6
1968	Gethers v. Blatty	283 F. Supp. 303	6
1966	CLEVITE CORPORATION v. Beckman Instruments, Inc.	257 F. Supp. 50	6
1971	Braswell Motor Freight, Inc. v. United States	336 F. Supp. 709	5
1969	Davis v. Trans World Airlines	297 F. Supp. 1145	5
1967	Deacon v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 12	273 F. Supp. 169	5

Showing the 15 most-cited of 23 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 Francis C. Whelan?: President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Francis C. Whelan to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 1964.
Was Francis C. Whelan appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Francis C. Whelan was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Francis C. Whelan's confirmation vote?: Francis C. Whelan was confirmed by voice vote on September 15, 1964. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Francis C. Whelan on?: Francis C. Whelan 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.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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24 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).