Harry Walker Wellford
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and confirmed by voice vote, Harry Walker Wellford was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1950. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1924–2021
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1982
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Washington and Lee 1947 · Vanderbilt Law School 1950
- Succeeded
- Bailey Brown
- Succeeded by
- Eugene Edward Siler Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Western District of Tennessee | Nixon (R) | Voice vote |
| 1982 | Sixth Circuit succeeded Bailey Brown | 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
| Washington and Lee University | B.A. | 1947 |
| Vanderbilt University Law School | LL.B. | 1950 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Wellford authored 51 published opinions for the court (1971–1984). Most cited: Ray v. Time, Inc. (25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Ray v. Time, Inc. | 452 F. Supp. 618 | 25 |
| 1980 | Stallings v. Harris | 493 F. Supp. 956 | 22 |
| 1981 | Memphis Bank & Trust Co. v. Brooks | 10 B.R. 306 | 20 |
| 1973 | Ennis v. Queen Insurance Company of America | 364 F. Supp. 964 | 17 |
| 1977 | Memphis Development Foundation v. Factors, Etc., Inc. | 441 F. Supp. 1323 | 16 |
| 1980 | Securities & Exchange Commission v. G. Weeks Securities, Inc. | 483 F. Supp. 1239 | 15 |
| 1976 | Allied Artists Pictures Corp. v. Alford | 410 F. Supp. 1348 | 14 |
| 1982 | McKenna v. City of Memphis | 544 F. Supp. 415 | 13 |
| 1978 | In Re H. & C. Table Co., Inc. | 457 F. Supp. 858 | 13 |
| 1973 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. New York Times Broadcasting Service, Inc. | 364 F. Supp. 651 | 13 |
| 1971 | Smith v. United States | 328 F. Supp. 1224 | 13 |
| 1972 | Adamsville Lumber Company, Inc. v. Rainey | 348 F. Supp. 373 | 12 |
| 1979 | United States v. One 1951 Douglas DC-6 Aircraft | 525 F. Supp. 13 | 11 |
| 1978 | Gross v. University of Tennessee | 448 F. Supp. 245 | 11 |
| 1971 | Beckum v. Tennessee Hotel | 341 F. Supp. 991 | 11 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 51 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 Walker Wellford?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Harry Walker Wellford to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1982.
- Was Harry Walker Wellford appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Harry Walker Wellford was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Harry Walker Wellford's confirmation vote?
- Harry Walker Wellford was confirmed by voice vote on August 20, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Harry Walker Wellford on?
- Harry Walker Wellford was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
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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38 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).