Who appointed Joseph Putnam Willson?

President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Joseph Putnam Willson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1953.

Was Joseph Putnam Willson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Joseph Putnam Willson was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Joseph Putnam Willson's confirmation vote?

Joseph Putnam Willson was confirmed by voice vote on July 14, 1953. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Western District of Pennsylvania / Appointed 1953 / Served to 1998

Joseph Putnam Willson

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 and confirmed by voice vote, Joseph Putnam Willson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) in 1931. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1902–1998
Appointed by: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: University of Pennsylvania 1926 · Temple Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) 1931
Succeeded: Owen McIntosh Burns
Succeeded by: Joseph Francis Weis Jr.

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1953	Western District of Pennsylvania succeeded Owen McIntosh Burns	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

University of Pennsylvania	B.S.	1926
Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law)	LL.B.	1931

Judicial Record

In our data, Willson authored 45 published opinions for the court (1954–1984). Most cited: Skeels v. Universal CIT Credit Corporation (43 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1963	Skeels v. Universal CIT Credit Corporation	222 F. Supp. 696	43
1967	Speyer, Inc. v. Humble Oil & Refining Company	275 F. Supp. 861	25
1960	Washington-East Washington Joint Authority v. Roberts & Schaefer Co.	180 F. Supp. 15	21
1961	Lynn v. Smith	193 F. Supp. 887	19
1974	Johnson v. McCrackin-Sturman Ford, Inc.	381 F. Supp. 153	18
1956	Johns v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company	143 F. Supp. 15	18
1965	Miller v. Allstate Insurance Company	238 F. Supp. 565	15
1955	Tri-State Roofing Co. v. New Amsterdam Casualty Co.	139 F. Supp. 193	15
1964	Duffy v. Armco Steel Corporation	225 F. Supp. 737	13
1967	In Re Advance Printing and Litho Company	277 F. Supp. 101	12
1980	Hayes v. Bentz (In Re Fisher)	7 B.R. 490	11
1964	Gehrlein Tire Co. v. American Employers Insurance Co.	243 F. Supp. 577	11
1964	First National Bank of Meadville v. Niagara Therapy Manufacturing Corp.	229 F. Supp. 460	11
1957	Solar Electric Corp. v. General Electric Co.	156 F. Supp. 51	11
1955	Proctor v. the Sagamore Big Game Club	128 F. Supp. 885	11

Showing the 15 most-cited of 45 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 Joseph Putnam Willson?: President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Joseph Putnam Willson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1953.
Was Joseph Putnam Willson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Joseph Putnam Willson was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Joseph Putnam Willson's confirmation vote?: Joseph Putnam Willson was confirmed by voice vote on July 14, 1953. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Joseph Putnam Willson on?: Joseph Putnam Willson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

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45 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).