James Benton Parsons
Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and confirmed by voice vote, James Benton Parsons was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He earned a law degree from University of Chicago Law School in 1949. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1911–1993
- Appointed by
- John F. Kennedy, 1961
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Millikin 1934 · University of Chicago Law School 1949
- Succeeded
- Philip Leo Sullivan
- Succeeded by
- Paul Edward Plunkett
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Northern District of Illinois succeeded Philip Leo Sullivan | Kennedy (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
| Millikin University | B.A. | 1934 |
| University of Chicago | M.A. | 1946 |
| University of Chicago Law School | J.D. | 1949 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Parsons was assigned 327 district-court cases (1978–1992). Median time from filing to termination: 320 days across 326 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, Parsons authored 61 published opinions for the court (1962–1992). Most cited: Monroe v. Pape (24 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Monroe v. Pape | 221 F. Supp. 635 | 24 |
| 1986 | Stevenson v. State Board of Elections | 638 F. Supp. 547 | 21 |
| 1963 | Nemitz v. Cunny | 221 F. Supp. 571 | 21 |
| 1964 | Cerniglia v. United States | 230 F. Supp. 932 | 19 |
| 1967 | Drake v. Thor Power Tool Company | 282 F. Supp. 94 | 18 |
| 1964 | United States v. D'Argento | 227 F. Supp. 596 | 16 |
| 1963 | Piano & Musical Instrument Workers Union, Local 2549 v. W. W. Kimball Co. | 221 F. Supp. 461 | 16 |
| 1983 | Kaplan v. 442 Wellington Cooperative Building Corp. | 567 F. Supp. 53 | 13 |
| 1972 | Sealy Mattress Co. of So. Cal. v. Sealy, Inc. | 346 F. Supp. 353 | 12 |
| 1965 | Rogers v. Provident Hospital | 241 F. Supp. 633 | 12 |
| 1969 | Miller v. Gillis | 315 F. Supp. 94 | 11 |
| 1969 | United States Ex Rel. Norris v. Norman | 296 F. Supp. 1270 | 11 |
| 1991 | Henkel Corp. v. Coral, Inc. | 754 F. Supp. 1280 | 10 |
| 1973 | Brennan v. Reynolds & Company | 367 F. Supp. 440 | 10 |
| 1972 | Superior Bedding Company v. Serta Associates, Inc. | 353 F. Supp. 1143 | 10 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 61 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 Benton Parsons?
- President John F. Kennedy appointed James Benton Parsons to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1961.
- Was James Benton Parsons appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Benton Parsons was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Benton Parsons's confirmation vote?
- James Benton Parsons was confirmed by voice vote on August 30, 1961. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was James Benton Parsons on?
- James Benton Parsons was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: John H. White (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.
31 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).