Eastern District of Kentucky / Appointed 1972 / Served to 1981

Howard David Hermansdorfer

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky

Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972 and confirmed by voice vote, Howard David Hermansdorfer was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He earned a law degree from University of Virginia School of Law in 1959. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived
1931–2003
Appointed by
Richard M. Nixon, 1972
Confirmed
by voice vote
Education
Princeton 1953 · University of Virginia Law 1959

Federal judicial service

YearCourtAppointed byVote
1972Eastern District of KentuckyNixon (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

Judicial Record

In our data, Hermansdorfer authored 22 published opinions for the court (1972–1978). Most cited: Howes v. Childers (13 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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

YearCaseCitationCited
1977Howes v. Childers426 F. Supp. 35813
1974Statzer v. Weinberger383 F. Supp. 125811
1973Phillips v. Black367 F. Supp. 77410
1973United States v. KENTLAND-ELKHORN COAL CORPORATION353 F. Supp. 4518
1972United States v. Finley Coal Company345 F. Supp. 628
1973United States v. ONE 1972 CADILLAC, COUPE DEVILLE, ETC.355 F. Supp. 5136
1974Yates v. Wellman373 F. Supp. 4375
1978Godley v. Piedmont Land Sales, Inc.505 F. Supp. 3974
1974Amburgey v. Cassady370 F. Supp. 5714
1973United States v. Grigsby367 F. Supp. 9004
1973TEC CORPORATION v. Nuclear Dynamics, Inc.364 F. Supp. 11654
1975Bush v. Weinberger399 F. Supp. 1823
1974Sullivan v. Day372 F. Supp. 3593
1973Caudill v. Cowan367 F. Supp. 9053
1973Maggard v. Weinberger364 F. Supp. 12293

Showing the 15 most-cited of 22 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 Howard David Hermansdorfer?
President Richard M. Nixon appointed Howard David Hermansdorfer to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in 1972.
Was Howard David Hermansdorfer appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
Howard David Hermansdorfer was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Howard David Hermansdorfer's confirmation vote?
Howard David Hermansdorfer was confirmed by voice vote on March 2, 1972. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Howard David Hermansdorfer on?
Howard David Hermansdorfer was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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8 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).