John Foster Symes
Appointed by President Warren G. Harding in 1922 and confirmed by voice vote, John Foster Symes was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. He earned a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1903. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1878–1951
- Appointed by
- Warren G. Harding, 1922
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Yale 1900 · Columbia Law School 1903
- Succeeded
- Robert E. Lewis
- Succeeded by
- William Lee Knous
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | District of Colorado succeeded Robert E. Lewis | Harding (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
| Yale University | Ph.B. | 1900 |
| Columbia Law School | LL.B. | 1903 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Symes authored 31 published opinions for the court (1925–1949). Most cited: Denver Union Stock Yard Co. v. United States (27 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Denver Union Stock Yard Co. v. United States | 57 F.2d 735 | 27 |
| 1948 | Mountain States Division No. 17 v. Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. | 81 F. Supp. 397 | 15 |
| 1941 | In Re Noble | 42 F. Supp. 684 | 15 |
| 1935 | American Commission Co. v. United States | 11 F. Supp. 965 | 13 |
| 1941 | Donley v. City of Colorado Springs | 40 F. Supp. 15 | 10 |
| 1945 | Bowles v. Amato | 60 F. Supp. 361 | 8 |
| 1934 | In Re Cope | 8 F. Supp. 778 | 8 |
| 1933 | Gaskins v. Bonfils | 4 F. Supp. 547 | 8 |
| 1935 | General Theatres, Inc. v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. | 9 F. Supp. 546 | 7 |
| 1943 | United States v. Swift & Co. | 52 F. Supp. 476 | 6 |
| 1942 | United States v. Colorado Wholesale Wine & Liquor Dealers Ass'n | 47 F. Supp. 160 | 6 |
| 1940 | United States v. Goodner | 35 F. Supp. 286 | 6 |
| 1939 | Securities and Exchange Commission v. MacOn | 28 F. Supp. 127 | 6 |
| 1938 | In Re Denver & R. G. W. R. Co. | 23 F. Supp. 298 | 6 |
| 1934 | United States v. Gearhart | 7 F. Supp. 712 | 6 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 31 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 Foster Symes?
- President Warren G. Harding appointed John Foster Symes to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 1922.
- Was John Foster Symes appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John Foster Symes was appointed by President Warren G. Harding, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John Foster Symes's confirmation vote?
- John Foster Symes was confirmed by voice vote on May 16, 1922. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was John Foster Symes on?
- John Foster Symes was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Government (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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28 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).