Harold Lyman Ryan
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and confirmed by voice vote, Harold Lyman Ryan was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho. He earned a law degree from University of Idaho College of Law in 1950. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1923–1995
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1981
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Idaho College of Law 1950
- Succeeded
- Raymond Clyne McNichols
- Succeeded by
- B. Lynn Winmill
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | District of Idaho succeeded Raymond Clyne McNichols | Reagan (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 Idaho College of Law | LL.B. | 1950 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Ryan was assigned 1,109 district-court cases (1983–1995). Median time from filing to termination: 362 days across 1,109 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.
In our data, Ryan authored 87 published opinions for the court (1982–1994). Most cited: State of Idaho v. Bunker Hill Co. (57 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | State of Idaho v. Bunker Hill Co. | 635 F. Supp. 665 | 57 |
| 1984 | Balla v. Idaho State Board of Corrections | 595 F. Supp. 1558 | 40 |
| 1986 | State of Idaho v. Bunker Hill Co. | 647 F. Supp. 1064 | 29 |
| 1994 | Coeur D'Alene Tribe v. State | 842 F. Supp. 1268 | 24 |
| 1992 | Mock v. Potlatch Corp. | 786 F. Supp. 1545 | 24 |
| 1989 | Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Gulf Resources & Chemical Corp. | 709 F. Supp. 958 | 24 |
| 1986 | Green v. AB Hagglund and Soner | 634 F. Supp. 790 | 19 |
| 1987 | Snowbird Const. Co., Inc. v. United States | 666 F. Supp. 1437 | 18 |
| 1993 | Forest Conservation Council v. Espy | 835 F. Supp. 1202 | 17 |
| 1993 | Public Service Co. of Colorado v. Andrus | 825 F. Supp. 1483 | 17 |
| 1990 | Dole v. Circle \ | 738 F. Supp. 1313 | 16 |
| 1985 | Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance v. Mobil Oil Corp. | 612 F. Supp. 1166 | 15 |
| 1983 | Morrison-Knudsen Co. v. Massachusetts Bay Transportattion Authority | 573 F. Supp. 698 | 15 |
| 1990 | McKinney v. Paskett | 753 F. Supp. 861 | 13 |
| 1985 | Swanson v. United States | 600 F. Supp. 802 | 13 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 87 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 Harold Lyman Ryan?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Harold Lyman Ryan to the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho in 1981.
- Was Harold Lyman Ryan appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Harold Lyman Ryan was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Harold Lyman Ryan's confirmation vote?
- Harold Lyman Ryan was confirmed by voice vote on December 16, 1981. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Harold Lyman Ryan on?
- Harold Lyman Ryan was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Idaho federal court (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
- 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.
13 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).