James L. Graham
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and confirmed by voice vote, James L. Graham is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He earned a law degree from Ohio State University College of Law (now Michael E. Moritz College of Law) in 1962. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1939 · age 87
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1986
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Ohio State 1962 · Ohio State College of Law (now Michael E. Moritz College of Law) 1962
- Succeeded
- Robert Morton Duncan
- Succeeded by
- Michael H. Watson
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Southern District of Ohio succeeded Robert Morton Duncan | 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
| Ohio State University | B.A. | 1962 |
| Ohio State University College of Law (now Michael E. Moritz College of Law) | J.D. | 1962 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Graham was assigned 6,268 district-court cases (1973–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 252 days across 5,981 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 248 of Graham’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 202 were affirmed, 26 reversed or vacated, and 20 affirmed in part and reversed in part. 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, Graham authored 156 published opinions for the court (1986–2011). Most cited: Fulson v. City of Columbus (187 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Fulson v. City of Columbus | 801 F. Supp. 1 | 187 |
| 1997 | CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc. | 962 F. Supp. 1015 | 63 |
| 1987 | Borden, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Insurance | 682 F. Supp. 927 | 56 |
| 1987 | Banks v. Rockwell International North American Aircraft Operations | 666 F. Supp. 1053 | 37 |
| 1996 | NPF IV, INC. v. Transitional Health Services | 922 F. Supp. 77 | 33 |
| 2004 | In Re Nat. Century Fin. Enterpr., Inc., Inv. Lit. | 323 F. Supp. 2d 861 | 32 |
| 2000 | Lafferty v. Reliance Insurance | 109 F. Supp. 2d 837 | 32 |
| 2007 | In Re National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc. | 504 F. Supp. 2d 287 | 31 |
| 1991 | In Re Federated Department Stores, Inc. | 131 B.R. 808 | 31 |
| 2003 | Parker v. Ohio | 263 F. Supp. 2d 1100 | 28 |
| 1995 | Wilkins Ex Rel. United States v. Ohio | 885 F. Supp. 1055 | 28 |
| 1993 | Kabealo v. Davis | 829 F. Supp. 923 | 28 |
| 2003 | Davis v. DCB Financial Corp. | 259 F. Supp. 2d 664 | 27 |
| 1993 | Barrick Gold Exploration, Inc. v. Hudson | 823 F. Supp. 1395 | 26 |
| 1988 | State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Hiermer | 720 F. Supp. 1310 | 26 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 156 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 L. Graham?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed James L. Graham to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 1986.
- Was James L. Graham appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James L. Graham was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James L. Graham's confirmation vote?
- James L. Graham was confirmed by voice vote on September 25, 1986. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is James L. Graham on?
- James L. Graham is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: unidentified photographer (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.
39 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).