James Robert Browning
Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and confirmed by voice vote, James Robert Browning was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Montana School of Law in 1941. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1918–2012
- Appointed by
- John F. Kennedy, 1961
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Chief judge
- Ninth Circuit, 1976 to 1988
- Education
- University of Montana Law 1941
- Succeeded
- Walter Lyndon Pope
- Succeeded by
- Sandra Segal Ikuta
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Ninth Circuit succeeded Walter Lyndon Pope chief judge 1976 to 1988 | Kennedy (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 Montana School of Law | LL.B. | 1941 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Special attorney, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Denver, Colorado | 1941-1943 |
| U.S. Army lieutenant | 1943-1946 |
| Special attorney, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. | 1946-1948 |
| Chief, Northwest Regional Office, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Seattle, Washington | 1948-1949 |
| Assistant chief, Antitrust Division, General Litigation Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. | 1949-1951 |
| First assistant, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. | 1951-1952 |
| Executive assistant, Office of the Attorney General of the United States | 1952-1953 |
| Chief, Executive Office for United States Attorneys | 1953 |
| Private practice, Washington, D.C. | 1953-1958 |
| Clerk of court, Supreme Court of the United States | 1958-1961 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 1976-1988 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Browning authored 2 published opinions for the court (2007). Most cited: Oregon Natural Resources Council Fund v. Brong (69 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Oregon Natural Resources Council Fund v. Brong | 492 F.3d 1120 | 69 |
| 2007 | Phillips v. Hust | 507 F.3d 1171 | 2 |
Showing the 2 most-cited of 2 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 James Robert Browning?
- President John F. Kennedy appointed James Robert Browning to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1961.
- Was James Robert Browning appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Robert Browning was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Robert Browning's confirmation vote?
- James Robert Browning was confirmed by voice vote on September 14, 1961. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was James Robert Browning on?
- James Robert Browning was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Unknown author (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- 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.
50 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).