James Alan Soto
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014 and confirmed by the Senate 93–1, James Alan Soto is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. He earned a law degree from Arizona State University College of Law (now Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) in 1975. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1950 · age 76
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2014
- Confirmed
- 93–1
- Education
- Arizona State 1971 · Arizona State College of Law (now Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) 1975
- Succeeded
- David C. Bury
- Succeeded by
- Angela Marie Martinez
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | District of Arizona succeeded David C. Bury | Obama (D) | 93–1 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 93–1 on May 15, 2014 · 113th Congress, Roll Call 155. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 93
51 D, 40 R, 2 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Timothy Scott(R-SC)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- John Walsh(D-MT)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 1
1 R
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
Did not vote · 6
2 D, 4 R
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
Education
| Arizona State University | B.S. | 1971 |
| Arizona State University College of Law (now Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) | J.D. | 1975 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Soto was assigned 940 district-court cases (1998–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 230 days across 828 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 62 of Soto’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 49 were affirmed, 9 reversed or vacated, and 4 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.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed James Alan Soto?
- President Barack Obama appointed James Alan Soto to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in 2014.
- Was James Alan Soto appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- James Alan Soto was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was James Alan Soto's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed James Alan Soto 93–1 on May 15, 2014.
- Which court is James Alan Soto on?
- James Alan Soto is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2014)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
12 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).