John Joseph Sirica
Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 and confirmed by voice vote, John Joseph Sirica was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He earned a law degree from Georgetown College Law School (now Georgetown University Law Center) in 1926. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1904–1992
- Appointed by
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Georgetown College Law School (now Georgetown Law Center) 1926
- Succeeded
- Henry Albert Schweinhaut
- Succeeded by
- Harold H. Greene
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | District of Columbia succeeded Henry Albert Schweinhaut | Eisenhower (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
Judicial Record
In our data, Sirica authored 114 published opinions for the court (1957–1984). Most cited: Fairchild & Co. v. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad (65 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Fairchild & Co. v. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad | 516 F. Supp. 1305 | 65 |
| 1965 | United States v. Hanrahan | 248 F. Supp. 471 | 55 |
| 1974 | United States v. Mitchell | 377 F. Supp. 1312 | 53 |
| 1974 | In Re Report & Recommendation of June 5, 1972 Grand Jury Concerning Transmission of Evidence to the House of Representatives | 370 F. Supp. 1219 | 52 |
| 1973 | Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities v. Nixon | 366 F. Supp. 51 | 47 |
| 1978 | Smiertka v. UNITED STATES DEPT. OF TREASURY, ETC. | 447 F. Supp. 221 | 43 |
| 1972 | United States v. Liddy | 354 F. Supp. 208 | 41 |
| 1982 | Hayes v. RCA Service Co. | 546 F. Supp. 661 | 39 |
| 1982 | Brinco Mining Ltd. v. Federal Insurance | 552 F. Supp. 1233 | 35 |
| 1978 | Misko v. United States | 453 F. Supp. 513 | 34 |
| 1970 | D. C. Federation of Civic Associations, Inc. v. Volpe | 316 F. Supp. 754 | 34 |
| 1974 | United States v. Mitchell | 397 F. Supp. 166 | 31 |
| 1975 | Lombardo v. Handler | 397 F. Supp. 792 | 28 |
| 1979 | Cutler v. Kennedy | 475 F. Supp. 838 | 27 |
| 1978 | Neely v. Blumenthal | 458 F. Supp. 945 | 26 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 114 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 John Joseph Sirica?
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed John Joseph Sirica to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 1957.
- Was John Joseph Sirica appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John Joseph Sirica was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John Joseph Sirica's confirmation vote?
- John Joseph Sirica was confirmed by voice vote on March 26, 1957. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was John Joseph Sirica on?
- John Joseph Sirica was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: White House Photographic Office (WHPO) - Thomas (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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35 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).