James Paul Oetken
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and confirmed by the Senate 80–13, James Paul Oetken is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1991. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1965 · age 61
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2011
- Confirmed
- 80–13
- Education
- University of Iowa 1988 · Yale Law School 1991
- Succeeded
- Denny Chin
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Southern District of New York succeeded Denny Chin | Obama (D) | 80–13 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 80–13 on July 18, 2011 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 112. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 80
50 D, 28 R, 2 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Scott Brown(R-MA)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 13
13 R
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
Did not vote · 7
1 D, 6 R
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
Education
| University of Iowa | B.A. | 1988 |
| Yale Law School | J.D. | 1991 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Oetken was assigned 4,170 district-court cases (1983–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 194 days across 3,753 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 181 of Oetken’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 153 were affirmed, 21 reversed or vacated, and 7 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, Oetken authored 1 published opinion for the court (2012). Most cited: Morgan Olson L.L.C. v. Frederico (In Re Grumman Olson Industries, Inc.) (41 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Morgan Olson L.L.C. v. Frederico (In Re Grumman Olson Industries, Inc.) | 467 B.R. 694 | 41 |
Showing the 1 most-cited of 1 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 Paul Oetken?
- President Barack Obama appointed James Paul Oetken to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2011.
- Was James Paul Oetken appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Paul Oetken was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Paul Oetken's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed James Paul Oetken 80–13 on July 18, 2011.
- Which court is James Paul Oetken on?
- James Paul Oetken is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: JPOfanboy (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2011)
- 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.
15 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).