J. Lawrence Irving
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and confirmed by voice vote, J. Lawrence Irving was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He earned a law degree from University of Southern California Law School (now Gould School of Law) in 1963. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1935–2024
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1982
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Southern California 1959 · University of Southern California Law School (now Gould Law) 1963
- Succeeded
- Edward Joseph Schwartz
- Succeeded by
- Irma Elsa Gonzalez
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Southern District of California succeeded Edward Joseph Schwartz | 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 Southern California | B.S. | 1959 |
| University of Southern California Law School (now Gould School of Law) | LL.B. | 1963 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Irving was assigned 876 district-court cases (1981–1990). Median time from filing to termination: 400 days across 876 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, Irving authored 14 published opinions for the court (1983–1990). Most cited: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. v. Center City Motors, Inc. (33 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. v. Center City Motors, Inc. | 609 F. Supp. 409 | 33 |
| 1987 | In Re Nucorp Energy Securities Litigation | 661 F. Supp. 1403 | 29 |
| 1988 | Ward v. San Diego County Department of Social Services | 691 F. Supp. 238 | 24 |
| 1986 | United States v. Orozco | 630 F. Supp. 1418 | 20 |
| 1985 | United States v. Meyer | 602 F. Supp. 1480 | 18 |
| 1983 | United States v. Van Brandy | 563 F. Supp. 438 | 12 |
| 1990 | United States v. Silberman | 732 F. Supp. 1057 | 8 |
| 1985 | Beltran v. State of Cal. | 617 F. Supp. 948 | 4 |
| 1984 | Arndt v. Prudential Bache Securities, Inc. | 603 F. Supp. 674 | 3 |
| 1984 | Reasoner v. Aetna Life Insurance | 600 F. Supp. 278 | 3 |
| 1984 | United States v. Meyer | 602 F. Supp. 1476 | 2 |
| 1990 | United States v. Franzenberg | 739 F. Supp. 1414 | 1 |
| 1985 | Securities & Exchange Commission v. Burns | 614 F. Supp. 1360 | 1 |
| 1985 | United States v. Medina & Medina | 617 F. Supp. 1163 | 0 |
Showing the 14 most-cited of 14 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 J. Lawrence Irving?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed J. Lawrence Irving to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 1982.
- Was J. Lawrence Irving appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- J. Lawrence Irving was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was J. Lawrence Irving's confirmation vote?
- J. Lawrence Irving was confirmed by voice vote on July 28, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was J. Lawrence Irving on?
- J. Lawrence Irving was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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.
8 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).