Fred Joseph Nichol
Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 and confirmed by voice vote, Fred Joseph Nichol was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. He earned a law degree from University of South Dakota School of Law (now Knudson School of Law) in 1936. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1912–1996
- Appointed by
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Yankton College, South Dakota 1933 · University of South Dakota Law (now Knudson School of Law) 1936
- Succeeded
- George Theodore Mickelson
- Succeeded by
- John Bailey Jones
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | District of South Dakota succeeded George Theodore Mickelson | L.B. Johnson (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
| Yankton College, South Dakota | A.B. | 1933 |
| University of South Dakota School of Law (now Knudson School of Law) | LL.B. | 1936 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Nichol authored 97 published opinions for the court (1967–1988). Most cited: Zemina v. Solem (65 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Zemina v. Solem | 438 F. Supp. 455 | 65 |
| 1974 | United States v. Banks | 383 F. Supp. 389 | 51 |
| 1967 | Yarrow v. Sterling Drug, Inc. | 263 F. Supp. 159 | 36 |
| 1982 | Blake v. Doyle (In Re Doyle-Lunstra Sales Corp.) | 19 B.R. 1003 | 28 |
| 1973 | Cook v. Carlson | 364 F. Supp. 24 | 27 |
| 1971 | Annis v. Dewey County Bank | 335 F. Supp. 133 | 27 |
| 1971 | Nolop v. Volpe | 333 F. Supp. 1364 | 27 |
| 1968 | McGlone v. Lacey | 288 F. Supp. 662 | 27 |
| 1968 | Hagberg v. City of Sioux Falls | 281 F. Supp. 460 | 27 |
| 1974 | United States v. Banks | 374 F. Supp. 321 | 24 |
| 1974 | United States v. Banks | 383 F. Supp. 368 | 22 |
| 1982 | Heles v. South Dakota | 530 F. Supp. 646 | 21 |
| 1973 | South Dakota v. Volpe | 353 F. Supp. 335 | 21 |
| 1972 | City of Vermillion, SD v. Stan Houston Equipment Co. | 341 F. Supp. 707 | 18 |
| 1976 | Lunsford v. United States | 418 F. Supp. 1045 | 17 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 97 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 Fred Joseph Nichol?
- President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Fred Joseph Nichol to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in 1965.
- Was Fred Joseph Nichol appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Fred Joseph Nichol was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Fred Joseph Nichol's confirmation vote?
- Fred Joseph Nichol was confirmed by voice vote on June 9, 1965. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Fred Joseph Nichol on?
- Fred Joseph Nichol was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.
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
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31 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).