James H. Payne
Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 and confirmed by the Senate 100–0, James H. Payne was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. He earned a law degree from University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1966. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1941–2025
- Appointed by
- George W. Bush, 2001
- Confirmed
- 100–0
- Education
- University of Oklahoma 1963 · University of Oklahoma College of Law 1966
- Succeeded
- Billy Michael Burrage
- Succeeded by
- John Frederick Heil III
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Eastern District of Oklahoma succeeded Billy Michael Burrage | G.W. Bush (R) | 100–0 |
| 2001 | Northern District of Oklahoma succeeded Billy Michael Burrage | G.W. Bush (R) | 100–0 |
| 2001 | Western District of Oklahoma succeeded Billy Michael Burrage | G.W. Bush (R) | 100–0 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 100–0 on October 23, 2001 · 107th Congress, Roll Call 307. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 100
50 D, 49 R, 1 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Wayne Allard(R-CO)
- George Allen(R-VA)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Evan Bayh(D-IN)
- Robert Bennett(R-UT)
- Joe Biden(D-DE)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- John Breaux(D-LA)
- Sam Brownback(R-KS)
- Jim Bunning(R-KY)
- Conrad Burns(R-MT)
- Robert Byrd(D-WV)
- Ben Campbell(R-CO)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Jean Carnahan(D-MO)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Lincoln Chafee(R-RI)
- Max Cleland(D-GA)
- Hillary Clinton(D-NY)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Jon Corzine(D-NJ)
- Larry Craig(R-ID)
- Michael Crapo(R-ID)
- Thomas Daschle(D-SD)
- Mark Dayton(D-MN)
- Mike DeWine(R-OH)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- Pete Domenici(R-NM)
- Byron Dorgan(D-ND)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- John Edwards(D-NC)
- John Ensign(R-NV)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Russell Feingold(D-WI)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Peter Fitzgerald(R-IL)
- Bill Frist(R-TN)
- Bob Graham(D-FL)
- Phil Gramm(R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Judd Gregg(R-NH)
- Chuck Hagel(R-NE)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Jesse Helms(R-NC)
- Ernest Hollings(D-SC)
- Tim Hutchinson(R-AR)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- James Inhofe(R-OK)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- James Jeffords(I-VT)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Edward Kennedy(D-MA)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(D-CT)
- Blanche Lincoln(D-AR)
- Trent Lott(R-MS)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Zell Miller(D-GA)
- Frank Murkowski(R-AK)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Don Nickles(R-OK)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- John Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Rick Santorum(R-PA)
- Paul Sarbanes(D-MD)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Bob Smith(R-NH)
- Gordon Smith(R-OR)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Arlen Specter(R-PA)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Ted Stevens(R-AK)
- Craig Thomas(R-WY)
- Fred Thompson(R-TN)
- Strom Thurmond(R-SC)
- Robert Torricelli(D-NJ)
- George Voinovich(R-OH)
- John Warner(R-VA)
- Paul Wellstone(D-MN)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Education
| University of Oklahoma | B.S. | 1963 |
| University of Oklahoma College of Law | J.D. | 1966 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Payne was assigned 2,224 district-court cases (1972–2020). Median time from filing to termination: 259 days across 2,224 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 98 of Payne’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 82 were affirmed, 8 reversed or vacated, and 8 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, Payne authored 9 published opinions for the court (1993–2009). Most cited: Eldridge v. Missouri Pacific Railroad (13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Eldridge v. Missouri Pacific Railroad | 832 F. Supp. 328 | 13 |
| 1995 | Summers v. Missouri Pacific Railroad System | 897 F. Supp. 533 | 12 |
| 1999 | Winters v. State Farm & Fire Casualty Co. | 35 F. Supp. 2d 842 | 3 |
| 2005 | Edwards v. Blockbuster Inc. | 400 F. Supp. 2d 1305 | 2 |
| 2009 | Eaton v. Metropolitan Life Insurance | 661 F. Supp. 2d 1240 | 1 |
| 2009 | United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians v. Kempthorne | 630 F. Supp. 2d 1296 | 1 |
| 2007 | North American Specialty Insurance v. Britt Paulk Insurance Agency, Inc. | 511 F. Supp. 2d 1099 | 1 |
| 2007 | North American Specialty Insurance v. Britt Paulk Insurance Agency, Inc. | 511 F. Supp. 2d 1091 | 0 |
| 2003 | In Re the Complaint & Petition of Magnolia Marine Transport Co. | 301 F. Supp. 2d 1283 | 0 |
Showing the 9 most-cited of 9 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 H. Payne?
- President George W. Bush appointed James H. Payne to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in 2001.
- Was James H. Payne appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James H. Payne was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James H. Payne's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed James H. Payne 100–0 on October 23, 2001.
- Which court was James H. Payne on?
- James H. Payne was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2001)
- 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 Eastern District of Oklahoma. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).