Who appointed James Douglas Elliott?

President William H. Taft appointed James Douglas Elliott to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in 1911.

Was James Douglas Elliott appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

James Douglas Elliott was appointed by President William H. Taft, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was James Douglas Elliott's confirmation vote?

James Douglas Elliott was confirmed by voice vote on June 7, 1911. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

District of South Dakota / Appointed 1911 / Served to 1933

James Douglas Elliott

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota

Appointed by President William H. Taft in 1911 and confirmed by voice vote, James Douglas Elliott was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1859–1933
Appointed by: William H. Taft, 1911
Confirmed: by voice vote
Succeeded: John Emmett Carland

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1911	District of South Dakota succeeded John Emmett Carland	Taft (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

Read law

1884

Judicial Record

In our data, Elliott authored 2 published opinions for the court (1926–1929). Most cited: United States v. Dewey County (17 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1926	United States v. Dewey County	14 F.2d 784	17
1929	Petition of Zogbaum	32 F.2d 911	5

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 Douglas Elliott?: President William H. Taft appointed James Douglas Elliott to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in 1911.
Was James Douglas Elliott appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: James Douglas Elliott was appointed by President William H. Taft, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was James Douglas Elliott's confirmation vote?: James Douglas Elliott was confirmed by voice vote on June 7, 1911. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was James Douglas Elliott on?: James Douglas Elliott was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.

Sources

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

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