Joel Martin Flaum
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 and confirmed by voice vote, Joel Martin Flaum was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) in 1963. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1936–2024
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1983
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Union College 1958 · Northwestern Law (now Pritzker School of Law) 1963
- Succeeded
- Robert Arthur Sprecher
- Succeeded by
- Candace Rae Jackson-Akiwumi
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Northern District of Illinois succeeded Philip Willis Tone | Ford (R) | Voice vote |
| 1983 | Seventh Circuit succeeded Robert Arthur Sprecher | Reagan (R) | 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
| Union College | B.A. | 1958 |
| Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) | J.D. | 1963 |
| Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) | LL.M. | 1964 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Flaum authored 604 published opinions for the court (1975–2022). Most cited: Laura Kubiak v. City of Chicago (644 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Laura Kubiak v. City of Chicago | 810 F.3d 476 | 644 |
| 2019 | George Walker v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc. | 940 F.3d 954 | 607 |
| 2018 | Ryan Boucher v. Finance System of Green Bay, I | 880 F.3d 362 | 351 |
| 2016 | Steven Hill v. City of Chicago | 817 F.3d 561 | 333 |
| 2016 | Tracy Williams v. Brandon Brooks | 809 F.3d 936 | 326 |
| 2018 | Alfredo Abrego v. Robert Wilkie | 907 F.3d 1004 | 289 |
| 2017 | S. Gopalratnam v. ABC Insurance Company | 877 F.3d 771 | 257 |
| 2018 | Paige Ray-Cluney v. Charles Palmer | 906 F.3d 540 | 238 |
| 2014 | Stacy Alexander v. Casino Queen Incorporated | 739 F.3d 972 | 238 |
| 2019 | Rickey I. Kanter v. William P. Barr | 919 F.3d 437 | 216 |
| 2018 | Mary Valencia v. City of Springfield | 883 F.3d 959 | 207 |
| 2016 | Richard N. Bell v. Cameron Taylor | 827 F.3d 699 | 202 |
| 2021 | Brian Lax v. Alejandro Mayorkas | 20 F.4th 1178 | 188 |
| 2014 | Kevin Sterk v. Redbox Automated Retail, LLC | 770 F.3d 618 | 185 |
| 2016 | Shannon Volling v. Kurtz Paramedic Services, Inc. | 840 F.3d 378 | 162 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 604 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 Joel Martin Flaum?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Joel Martin Flaum to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1983.
- Was Joel Martin Flaum appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Joel Martin Flaum was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Joel Martin Flaum's confirmation vote?
- Joel Martin Flaum was confirmed by voice vote on May 4, 1983. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Joel Martin Flaum on?
- Joel Martin Flaum was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (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.
41 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).