John Edward Dowdell
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 95–0, John Edward Dowdell is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He earned a law degree from University of Tulsa College of Law in 1981. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1955 · age 71
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2012
- Confirmed
- 95–0
- Education
- Wake Forest 1978 · University of Tulsa College of Law 1981
- Succeeded
- Terence C. Kern
- Succeeded by
- John David Russell
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Northern District of Oklahoma succeeded Terence C. Kern | Obama (D) | 95–0 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 95–0 on December 11, 2012 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 226. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 95
47 D, 46 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)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- 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)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- 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)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- 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)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- 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)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 5
4 D, 1 R
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
Education
| Wake Forest University | B.A. | 1978 |
| University of Tulsa College of Law | J.D. | 1981 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Dowdell was assigned 1,082 district-court cases (2000–2021). Median time from filing to termination: 316 days across 1,078 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 79 of Dowdell’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 64 were affirmed, 7 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.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed John Edward Dowdell?
- President Barack Obama appointed John Edward Dowdell to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma in 2012.
- Was John Edward Dowdell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John Edward Dowdell was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John Edward Dowdell's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed John Edward Dowdell 95–0 on December 11, 2012.
- Which court is John Edward Dowdell on?
- John Edward Dowdell is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
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 Oklahoma (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2012)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
13 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).