Who appointed Frederick L. Van Sickle?

President George H.W. Bush appointed Frederick L. Van Sickle to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in 1991.

Was Frederick L. Van Sickle appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Frederick L. Van Sickle was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Frederick L. Van Sickle's confirmation vote?

Frederick L. Van Sickle was confirmed by voice vote on May 9, 1991. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Eastern District of Washington / Appointed 1991 / Served to 2021

Frederick L. Van Sickle

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed by voice vote, Frederick L. Van Sickle was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He earned a law degree from University of Washington School of Law in 1968. Sources ↓

Lived: 1943–2021
Appointed by: George H.W. Bush, 1991
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: University of Wisconsin 1965 · University of Washington Law 1968
Succeeded by: Rosanna Malouf Peterson

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1991	Eastern District of Washington	G.H.W. Bush (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 Wisconsin	B.S.	1965
University of Washington School of Law	J.D.	1968

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Sickle was assigned 1,831 district-court cases (1984–2021). Median time from filing to termination: 238 days across 1,831 closed cases.

Prisoner & habeas29%

Civil rights13%

Personal-injury torts12%

Contract11%

Social Security9%

Other federal statutes7%

Other19%

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.

On appeal

Of 69 of Sickle’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 47 were affirmed, 14 reversed or vacated, and 8 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Frederick L. Van Sickle?: President George H.W. Bush appointed Frederick L. Van Sickle to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in 1991.
Was Frederick L. Van Sickle appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Frederick L. Van Sickle was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Frederick L. Van Sickle's confirmation vote?: Frederick L. Van Sickle was confirmed by voice vote on May 9, 1991. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Frederick L. Van Sickle on?: Frederick L. Van Sickle was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.

30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).