Gary A. Fenner
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1996 and confirmed by voice vote, Gary A. Fenner is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. He earned a law degree from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1973. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1947 · age 79
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1996
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Kansas 1970 · University of Missouri-Kansas City Law 1973
- Succeeded
- Scott Olin Wright
- Succeeded by
- Roseann Ambrosia Ketchmark
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Western District of Missouri succeeded Scott Olin Wright | Clinton (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
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Fenner was assigned 5,856 district-court cases (1983–2025). Median time from filing to termination: 190 days across 5,767 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.
On appeal
Of 428 of Fenner’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 379 were affirmed, 25 reversed or vacated, and 24 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.
In our data, Fenner authored 31 published opinions for the court (1996–2010). Most cited: Cardenas-Celestino v. United States (14 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cardenas-Celestino v. United States | 552 F. Supp. 2d 962 | 14 |
| 2010 | Community of Christ Copyright Corp. v. Devon Park Restoration Branch of Jesus Christ's Church | 683 F. Supp. 2d 1006 | 9 |
| 2001 | United States v. NHC Health Care Corp. | 163 F. Supp. 2d 1051 | 9 |
| 1998 | Cunningham v. Kansas City Star Co. | 995 F. Supp. 1010 | 9 |
| 1996 | Craig v. Chater | 943 F. Supp. 1184 | 9 |
| 2000 | United States v. NHC Healthcare Corp. | 115 F. Supp. 2d 1149 | 8 |
| 1996 | Brunston v. Shalala | 945 F. Supp. 198 | 7 |
| 2009 | CERNER CORPORATION v. Visicu, Inc. | 667 F. Supp. 2d 1062 | 5 |
| 2007 | Andron v. Gonzales | 487 F. Supp. 2d 1089 | 5 |
| 1998 | Wirth v. College of the Ozarks | 26 F. Supp. 2d 1185 | 5 |
| 2009 | Community of Christ Copyright Corp. v. Devon Park Restoration Branch of Jesus Christ's Church | 613 F. Supp. 2d 1140 | 4 |
| 2008 | Braden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | 590 F. Supp. 2d 1159 | 4 |
| 2003 | Lee v. Paige | 276 F. Supp. 2d 980 | 4 |
| 2001 | American Cable Technologies Services, Inc. v. AT & T Corp. | 140 F. Supp. 2d 1026 | 3 |
| 2007 | Takkallapalli v. Chertoff | 487 F. Supp. 2d 1094 | 2 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 31 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 Gary A. Fenner?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Gary A. Fenner to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 1996.
- Was Gary A. Fenner appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Gary A. Fenner was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Gary A. Fenner's confirmation vote?
- Gary A. Fenner was confirmed by voice vote on July 10, 1996. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Gary A. Fenner on?
- Gary A. Fenner is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- 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.
30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).