James Braxton Craven Jr.
Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 and confirmed by voice vote, James Braxton Craven Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1942. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1918–1977
- Appointed by
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Duke 1939 · Harvard Law School 1942
- Succeeded by
- James Dickson Phillips Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Western District of North Carolina | Kennedy (D) | Voice vote |
| 1966 | Fourth Circuit | L.B. Johnson (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
| Duke University | A.B. | 1939 |
| Harvard Law School | LL.B. | 1942 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Craven authored 20 published opinions for the court (1962–1966). Most cited: Patton v. State of North Carolina (54 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Patton v. State of North Carolina | 256 F. Supp. 225 | 54 |
| 1966 | Wehrle v. Brooks | 269 F. Supp. 785 | 27 |
| 1963 | Anderson v. State of North Carolina | 221 F. Supp. 930 | 24 |
| 1963 | Goforth v. Allstate Insurance Company | 220 F. Supp. 616 | 22 |
| 1964 | Perkins v. State of North Carolina | 234 F. Supp. 333 | 21 |
| 1963 | Burris v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers | 224 F. Supp. 277 | 21 |
| 1965 | Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education | 243 F. Supp. 667 | 16 |
| 1963 | Threatt v. State of North Carolina | 221 F. Supp. 858 | 13 |
| 1963 | Goforth v. Allstate Insurance Company | 213 F. Supp. 595 | 11 |
| 1963 | METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY v. Jordan | 221 F. Supp. 842 | 10 |
| 1965 | Buford v. Morganton City Board of Education | 244 F. Supp. 437 | 9 |
| 1964 | Wheatley v. Phillips | 228 F. Supp. 439 | 8 |
| 1965 | United Services Automobile Association v. Wharton | 237 F. Supp. 255 | 7 |
| 1964 | Manning v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. | 235 F. Supp. 615 | 7 |
| 1965 | Chambers v. Hendersonville City Board of Education | 245 F. Supp. 759 | 5 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 20 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 Braxton Craven Jr.?
- President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed James Braxton Craven Jr. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1966.
- Was James Braxton Craven Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Braxton Craven Jr. was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Braxton Craven Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- James Braxton Craven Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on June 29, 1966. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was James Braxton Craven Jr. on?
- James Braxton Craven Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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10 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).