Howell Webster Melton Sr.
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and confirmed by voice vote, Howell Webster Melton Sr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. He earned a law degree from University of Florida College of Law (now Fredric G. Levin College of Law) in 1948. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1923–2015
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1977
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Florida College of Law (now Fredric G. Levin College of Law) 1948
- Succeeded
- Gerald Bard Tjoflat
- Succeeded by
- Harvey Erwin Schlesinger
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Middle District of Florida succeeded Gerald Bard Tjoflat | 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
| University of Florida | A.A. | 1943 |
| University of Florida College of Law (now Fredric G. Levin College of Law) | J.D. | 1948 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Melton was assigned 475 district-court cases (1996–2013). Median time from filing to termination: 111 days across 475 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 15 of Melton’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 14 were affirmed, 1 reversed or vacated. 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, Melton authored 81 published opinions for the court (1978–2010). Most cited: Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. (120 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. | 760 F. Supp. 1486 | 120 |
| 1986 | Armstead v. Pingree | 629 F. Supp. 273 | 45 |
| 1978 | Bayside Enterprises, Inc. v. Carson | 450 F. Supp. 696 | 45 |
| 1978 | Lee v. Altamil Corp. | 457 F. Supp. 979 | 33 |
| 1990 | Charter International Oil Co. v. Ziegler (In Re Charter Co.) | 113 B.R. 725 | 24 |
| 1979 | Bayside Enterprises, Inc. v. Carson | 470 F. Supp. 1140 | 21 |
| 1980 | United States v. Sanderson | 498 F. Supp. 273 | 20 |
| 1988 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc. | 690 F. Supp. 995 | 17 |
| 1983 | Songer v. Wainwright | 571 F. Supp. 1384 | 17 |
| 1986 | Rowland v. Safeco Insurance Co. of America | 634 F. Supp. 613 | 15 |
| 1988 | Florida Committee for Liability Reform v. McMillan | 682 F. Supp. 1536 | 13 |
| 1991 | Harper v. United States | 769 F. Supp. 362 | 12 |
| 1988 | Atkins v. Lowin (In Re Monetary Group) | 91 B.R. 138 | 12 |
| 1987 | Kirby v. Omi Corp. | 655 F. Supp. 219 | 12 |
| 1989 | Lancer Arabians, Inc. v. Beech Aircraft Corp. | 723 F. Supp. 1444 | 11 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 81 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 Howell Webster Melton Sr.?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Howell Webster Melton Sr. to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 1977.
- Was Howell Webster Melton Sr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Howell Webster Melton Sr. was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Howell Webster Melton Sr.'s confirmation vote?
- Howell Webster Melton Sr. was confirmed by voice vote on April 25, 1977. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Howell Webster Melton Sr. on?
- Howell Webster Melton Sr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
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.
38 years on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).