Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and confirmed by voice vote, Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She earned a law degree from Howard University School of Law in 1966. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1942 · age 84
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1979
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Howard Law 1966
- Succeeded by
- John David Rainey
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Southern District of Texas | Carter (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
| Howard University School of Law | LL.B. | 1966 |
Judicial Record
In our data, McDonald authored 83 published opinions for the court (1979–1988). Most cited: Vietnamese Fishermen's Ass'n v. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (55 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Vietnamese Fishermen's Ass'n v. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | 518 F. Supp. 993 | 55 |
| 1983 | Stabler v. New York Times Co. | 569 F. Supp. 1131 | 39 |
| 1980 | Andrews v. Ballard | 498 F. Supp. 1038 | 33 |
| 1986 | SDJ, Inc. v. City of Houston | 636 F. Supp. 1359 | 29 |
| 1983 | United States v. McBride | 571 F. Supp. 596 | 28 |
| 1983 | New Process Steel Corp. v. Titan Industrial Corp. | 555 F. Supp. 1018 | 18 |
| 1982 | Shell Pipe Line Corp. v. West Texas Marketing Corp. | 540 F. Supp. 1155 | 15 |
| 1982 | Ezon v. Cornwall Equities Ltd. | 540 F. Supp. 885 | 15 |
| 1984 | Gore v. Stenson | 616 F. Supp. 895 | 14 |
| 1981 | Citibank, National Ass'n v. London | 526 F. Supp. 793 | 14 |
| 1982 | Coons v. American Horse Show Ass'n, Inc. | 533 F. Supp. 398 | 13 |
| 1983 | Herceg v. Hustler Magazine, Inc. | 565 F. Supp. 802 | 12 |
| 1982 | Schulte v. Wilson Industries, Inc. | 547 F. Supp. 324 | 12 |
| 1983 | Lynn v. Schweiker | 565 F. Supp. 265 | 11 |
| 1981 | Texas International Airlines, Inc. v. Air Line Pilots Ass'n International | 518 F. Supp. 203 | 11 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 83 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 Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in 1979.
- Was Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald's confirmation vote?
- Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald was confirmed by voice vote on May 10, 1979. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald on?
- Gabrielle Anne Kirk McDonald was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
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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9 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).