James Stuart Holden
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971 and confirmed by voice vote, James Stuart Holden was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. He earned a law degree from Albany Law School in 1938. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1914–1996
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1971
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Dartmouth College 1935 · Albany Law School 1938
- Succeeded
- James Lowell Oakes
- Succeeded by
- Franklin S. Billings Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | District of Vermont succeeded James Lowell Oakes | Nixon (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
| Dartmouth College | A.B. | 1935 |
| Albany Law School | LL.B. | 1938 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Holden authored 67 published opinions for the court (1972–1990). Most cited: State of Vt. v. Staco, Inc. (35 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | State of Vt. v. Staco, Inc. | 684 F. Supp. 822 | 35 |
| 1975 | Schatz v. Cutler | 395 F. Supp. 271 | 29 |
| 1973 | Rhault v. Tsagarakos | 361 F. Supp. 202 | 29 |
| 1982 | Town of Springfield, Vermont v. McCarren | 549 F. Supp. 1134 | 28 |
| 1976 | Peters v. Middlebury College | 409 F. Supp. 857 | 22 |
| 1979 | Phillips v. Aetna Life Insurance | 473 F. Supp. 984 | 20 |
| 1975 | Condosta v. Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc. | 400 F. Supp. 358 | 19 |
| 1980 | United States v. Lace | 502 F. Supp. 1021 | 16 |
| 1978 | Hohman v. Hogan | 458 F. Supp. 669 | 15 |
| 1976 | Ryan v. New Bedford Cordage Co. | 421 F. Supp. 794 | 14 |
| 1974 | Miller v. Cousins Properties, Incorporated | 378 F. Supp. 711 | 14 |
| 1983 | Gravel, Shea & Wright, Ltd. v. New England Carpet Co. (In Re New England Carpet Co.) | 38 B.R. 703 | 13 |
| 1976 | Battick v. Stoneman | 421 F. Supp. 213 | 13 |
| 1973 | Gonyaw v. Ladue | 361 F. Supp. 366 | 13 |
| 1972 | Bowers v. Smith | 353 F. Supp. 1339 | 13 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 67 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 Stuart Holden?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed James Stuart Holden to the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont in 1971.
- Was James Stuart Holden appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Stuart Holden was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Stuart Holden's confirmation vote?
- James Stuart Holden was confirmed by voice vote on November 23, 1971. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was James Stuart Holden on?
- James Stuart Holden was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont.
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
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24 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).