Hayden Wilson Head Jr.
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and confirmed by voice vote, Hayden Wilson Head Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He earned a law degree from University of Texas School of Law in 1968. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1944 · age 82
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1981
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Texas 1966 · University of Texas Law 1968
- Succeeded
- Owen DeVol Cox
- Succeeded by
- Nelva Gonzales Ramos
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Southern District of Texas succeeded Owen DeVol Cox | 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 Texas | B.A. | 1966 |
| University of Texas School of Law | LL.B. | 1968 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Head was assigned 4,424 district-court cases (1983–2018). Median time from filing to termination: 208 days across 4,420 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 96 of Head’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 74 were affirmed, 16 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, Head authored 20 published opinions for the court (1983–2010). Most cited: Pro Hardware, Inc. v. Home Centers of America, Inc. (9 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Pro Hardware, Inc. v. Home Centers of America, Inc. | 607 F. Supp. 146 | 9 |
| 1985 | United States v. Elder | 601 F. Supp. 1574 | 8 |
| 2006 | XL Specialty Insurance v. Kiewit Offshore Services, Ltd. | 426 F. Supp. 2d 565 | 7 |
| 2004 | XL Specialty Insurance v. Kiewit Offshore Services, Ltd. | 336 F. Supp. 2d 673 | 5 |
| 1986 | United States v. Adair | 649 F. Supp. 61 | 5 |
| 1985 | Wilkinson v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. | 645 F. Supp. 318 | 5 |
| 1983 | United States v. Charles | 561 F. Supp. 694 | 5 |
| 2000 | United States Ex Rel. CMC Steel Fabricators, Inc. v. Harrop Construction Co. | 131 F. Supp. 2d 882 | 4 |
| 1991 | Martin v. Tiller Helicopter Services, Inc. | 778 F. Supp. 1395 | 2 |
| 2007 | Floyd v. Dykeswill, Ltd. (In Re Dykeswill, Ltd.) | 365 B.R. 683 | 1 |
| 2005 | Hernandez v. Ford Motor Co. | 390 F. Supp. 2d 602 | 1 |
| 2003 | Hinojosa v. CITY OF KINGSVILLE, TEXAS | 266 F. Supp. 2d 562 | 1 |
| 1992 | Strong v. United States | 811 F. Supp. 246 | 1 |
| 1990 | Lichtenberger v. PRUDENTIAL-BACHE SECURITIES, INC. | 737 F. Supp. 43 | 1 |
| 2010 | National Fire Insurance v. Radiology Associates, LLP | 694 F. Supp. 2d 658 | 0 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 20 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 Hayden Wilson Head Jr.?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Hayden Wilson Head Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in 1981.
- Was Hayden Wilson Head Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Hayden Wilson Head Jr. was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Hayden Wilson Head Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- Hayden Wilson Head Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on October 21, 1981. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Hayden Wilson Head Jr. on?
- Hayden Wilson Head Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
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
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
44 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).