Harry Thomas Edwards
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and confirmed by voice vote, Harry Thomas Edwards is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Michigan Law School in 1965. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1940 · age 86
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1980
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Chief judge
- District of Columbia Circuit, 1994 to 2001
- Education
- Cornell 1962 · University of Michigan Law School 1965
- Succeeded
- David L. Bazelon
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | District of Columbia Circuit succeeded David L. Bazelon chief judge 1994 to 2001 | 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
| Cornell University | B.S. | 1962 |
| University of Michigan Law School | J.D. | 1965 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Private practice, Chicago, Illinois | 1965-1970 |
| Professor of law, University of Michigan Law School | 1970-1975, 1977-1980 |
| Labor arbitrator | 1971-1980 |
| Professor of law, Harvard Law School | 1975-1977 |
| Chairman of the board, National Railroad Passenger Corporation | 1978-1980 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 1994-2001 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Edwards authored 1 published opinion for the court (1982). Most cited: Busbee v. Smith (63 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Busbee v. Smith | 549 F. Supp. 494 | 63 |
Showing the 1 most-cited of 1 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 Harry Thomas Edwards?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Harry Thomas Edwards to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980.
- Was Harry Thomas Edwards appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Harry Thomas Edwards was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Harry Thomas Edwards's confirmation vote?
- Harry Thomas Edwards was confirmed by voice vote on February 20, 1980. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Harry Thomas Edwards on?
- Harry Thomas Edwards is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Harry T. Edwards (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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46 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).