Eastern District of Kentucky / Appointed 1980 / Served to 2013

Green Wix Unthank

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

Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and confirmed by voice vote, Green Wix Unthank was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He earned a law degree from University of Miami School of Law in 1950. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived
1923–2013
Appointed by
Jimmy Carter, 1980
Confirmed
by voice vote
Education
University of Miami Law 1950

Federal judicial service

YearCourtAppointed byVote
1980Eastern District of KentuckyCarter (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, Unthank was assigned 7,247 district-court cases (1989–2011). Median time from filing to termination: 349 days across 7,247 closed cases.

Social Security60%
Prisoner & habeas12%
Personal-injury torts6%
Contract6%
Civil rights5%
Real property4%
Other7%

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 134 of Unthank’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 111 were affirmed, 17 reversed or vacated, and 6 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, Unthank authored 9 published opinions for the court (1982–2011). Most cited: McElhinney v. Medical Protective Co. (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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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

YearCaseCitationCited
1982McElhinney v. Medical Protective Co.549 F. Supp. 12114
2011Hollins v. Astrue780 F. Supp. 2d 5302
2009Abrams v. Astrue637 F. Supp. 2d 5202
1991Kentucky, Natural Resources Cabinet v. Daniels (In Re Daniels)130 B.R. 2392
2011Gray v. Astrue780 F. Supp. 2d 5481
1989Anderson v. Secretary of Health and Human Services722 F. Supp. 14361
1984Elbo Coals, Inc. v. United States588 F. Supp. 7451
2011Millen v. Astrue780 F. Supp. 2d 5230
2001Banks v. Apfel144 F. Supp. 2d 7520

Showing the 9 most-cited of 9 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 Green Wix Unthank?
President Jimmy Carter appointed Green Wix Unthank to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in 1980.
Was Green Wix Unthank appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
Green Wix Unthank was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Green Wix Unthank's confirmation vote?
Green Wix Unthank was confirmed by voice vote on June 18, 1980. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Green Wix Unthank on?
Green Wix Unthank was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

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.

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