John Thomas Fowlkes Jr.
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 94–2, John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. He earned a law degree from University of Denver College of Law (now Sturm College of Law) in 1977. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1951 · age 75
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2012
- Confirmed
- 94–2
- Education
- Valparaiso 1975 · University of Denver College of Law (now Sturm College of Law) 1977
- Succeeded
- Bernice Bouie Donald
- Succeeded by
- Brian Charles Lea
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Western District of Tennessee succeeded Bernice Bouie Donald | Obama (D) | 94–2 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 94–2 on July 10, 2012 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 173. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 94
51 D, 42 R, 1 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)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- 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)
- 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)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- 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)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- 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)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- 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)
- 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)
Voted against · 2
2 R
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
Did not vote · 4
3 R, 1 I
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
Education
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Fowlkes was assigned 1,897 district-court cases (2000–2025). Median time from filing to termination: 382 days across 1,853 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 89 of Fowlkes’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 63 were affirmed, 11 reversed or vacated, and 15 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 Thomas Fowlkes Jr.?
- President Barack Obama appointed John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in 2012.
- Was John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John Thomas Fowlkes Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. 94–2 on July 10, 2012.
- Which court is John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. on?
- John Thomas Fowlkes Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (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.
14 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).