James Harry Michael Jr.
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980 and confirmed by voice vote, James Harry Michael Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He earned a law degree from University of Virginia School of Law in 1942. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1918–2005
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1980
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Virginia 1940 · University of Virginia Law 1942
- Succeeded by
- James Parker Jones
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Western District of Virginia | Carter (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 Virginia | B.S. | 1940 |
| University of Virginia School of Law | LL.B. | 1942 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Michael was assigned 1,648 district-court cases (1980–2005). Median time from filing to termination: 324 days across 1,648 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.
In our data, Michael authored 278 published opinions for the court (1981–2005). Most cited: Londeree v. Crutchfield Corp. (49 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Londeree v. Crutchfield Corp. | 68 F. Supp. 2d 718 | 49 |
| 1986 | Boyd v. Bulala | 647 F. Supp. 781 | 42 |
| 1999 | United States v. Hambrick | 55 F. Supp. 2d 504 | 37 |
| 2000 | Pitchford v. Oakwood Mobile Homes, Inc. | 124 F. Supp. 2d 958 | 34 |
| 1986 | Brockenbrough v. Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service | 61 B.R. 685 | 33 |
| 1988 | Selman v. American Sports Underwriters, Inc. | 697 F. Supp. 225 | 31 |
| 1987 | Boyd v. Bulala | 672 F. Supp. 915 | 31 |
| 1994 | Krichbaum v. Kelley | 844 F. Supp. 1107 | 30 |
| 1985 | Johnson v. University of Virginia | 606 F. Supp. 321 | 25 |
| 1990 | Bellone v. Roxbury Homes, Inc. | 748 F. Supp. 434 | 24 |
| 1990 | Jordon v. Bowman Apple Products Co., Inc. | 728 F. Supp. 409 | 24 |
| 1991 | Butler v. Navistar International Transportation Corp. | 809 F. Supp. 1202 | 23 |
| 1996 | Blankenship v. Warren County, Va. | 931 F. Supp. 447 | 21 |
| 1983 | Harris v. Bailey | 574 F. Supp. 966 | 19 |
| 1995 | Continental Securities Corp. v. Shenandoah Nursing Home Partnership | 188 B.R. 205 | 18 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 278 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 Harry Michael Jr.?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed James Harry Michael Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in 1980.
- Was James Harry Michael Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Harry Michael Jr. was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Harry Michael Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- James Harry Michael Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on September 29, 1980. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was James Harry Michael Jr. on?
- James Harry Michael Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
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
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
24 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).