Herbert J. Hutton
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and confirmed by voice vote, Herbert J. Hutton was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) in 1962. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1937–2007
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1988
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Lincoln, Pennsylvania 1959 · Temple Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) 1962
- Succeeded
- Clarence Charles Newcomer
- Succeeded by
- Paul Steven Diamond
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Eastern District of Pennsylvania succeeded Clarence Charles Newcomer | 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
| Lincoln University, Pennsylvania | A.B. | 1959 |
| Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) | J.D. | 1962 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Hutton was assigned 3,579 district-court cases (1988–2006). Median time from filing to termination: 218 days across 3,578 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, Hutton authored 70 published opinions for the court (1989–2004). Most cited: McGrath v. City of Philadelphia (45 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | McGrath v. City of Philadelphia | 864 F. Supp. 466 | 45 |
| 1989 | In Re B. Cohen & Sons Caterers, Inc. | 108 B.R. 482 | 42 |
| 1989 | In Re Metro Transportation Co. | 107 B.R. 50 | 36 |
| 1989 | Celona v. Equitable National Bank | 98 B.R. 705 | 35 |
| 2001 | Molina v. City of Lancaster | 159 F. Supp. 2d 813 | 33 |
| 1991 | In Re B. Cohen & Sons Caterers, Inc. | 124 B.R. 642 | 25 |
| 1995 | Ansel Properties, Inc. v. Nutri/System of Florida Associates (In Re Nutri/System of Florida Associates) | 178 B.R. 645 | 18 |
| 1993 | Stoumen v. Public Service Mutual Insurance | 834 F. Supp. 140 | 17 |
| 1991 | Smolsky v. Consolidated Rail Corp. | 780 F. Supp. 283 | 16 |
| 1994 | Brown v. Seaman Furniture Company, Inc. | 171 B.R. 26 | 13 |
| 2003 | Sabree Ex Rel. Sabree v. Houston | 245 F. Supp. 2d 653 | 12 |
| 1999 | Gideons International, Inc. v. Gideon 300 Ministries, Inc. | 94 F. Supp. 2d 566 | 12 |
| 1993 | Charter Fairmount Institute, Inc. v. Alta Health Strategies | 835 F. Supp. 233 | 12 |
| 1997 | Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. Rennard Street Enterprises, Inc. | 975 F. Supp. 746 | 11 |
| 1994 | Morgan v. Havir Manufacturing Co. | 887 F. Supp. 759 | 11 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 70 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 Herbert J. Hutton?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Herbert J. Hutton to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1988.
- Was Herbert J. Hutton appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Herbert J. Hutton was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Herbert J. Hutton's confirmation vote?
- Herbert J. Hutton was confirmed by voice vote on August 11, 1988. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Herbert J. Hutton on?
- Herbert J. Hutton was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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.
18 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).