Karl Spillman Forester
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and confirmed by voice vote, Karl Spillman Forester was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He earned a law degree from University of Kentucky College of Law in 1966. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1940–2014
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1988
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Kentucky 1962 · University of Kentucky College of Law 1966
- Succeeded by
- Gregory Frederick Van Tatenhove
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Eastern District of Kentucky | Reagan (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 Kentucky | B.A. | 1962 |
| University of Kentucky College of Law | J.D. | 1966 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Forester was assigned 4,128 district-court cases (1983–2014). Median time from filing to termination: 201 days across 4,128 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 116 of Forester’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 100 were affirmed, 4 reversed or vacated, and 12 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.
In our data, Forester authored 92 published opinions for the court (1989–2011). Most cited: Keeneland Ass'n, Inc. v. Eamer (42 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Keeneland Ass'n, Inc. v. Eamer | 830 F. Supp. 974 | 42 |
| 2002 | Fenger v. Idexx Laboratories, Inc. | 194 F. Supp. 2d 601 | 28 |
| 1995 | McKay v. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. | 878 F. Supp. 1012 | 26 |
| 2001 | Bowling v. Parker | 138 F. Supp. 2d 821 | 22 |
| 2002 | Clark v. Kentucky | 229 F. Supp. 2d 718 | 20 |
| 1994 | Lowry v. Clark | 843 F. Supp. 228 | 19 |
| 2005 | Milgrom v. Burstein | 374 F. Supp. 2d 523 | 17 |
| 1999 | Messick v. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. | 45 F. Supp. 2d 578 | 17 |
| 1997 | Jackson v. Brook Ledge, Inc. | 991 F. Supp. 640 | 17 |
| 1991 | Libertarian Party of Kentucky v. Ehrler | 776 F. Supp. 1200 | 17 |
| 2011 | Whalen v. Stryker Corp. | 783 F. Supp. 2d 977 | 15 |
| 1997 | Davis v. Beeler | 966 F. Supp. 483 | 15 |
| 1990 | O'BRIEN v. Williamson Daily News | 735 F. Supp. 218 | 14 |
| 2003 | Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc. | 253 F. Supp. 2d 943 | 12 |
| 2002 | FS Investments, Inc. v. Asset Guaranty Insurance | 196 F. Supp. 2d 491 | 12 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 92 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 Karl Spillman Forester?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Karl Spillman Forester to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in 1988.
- Was Karl Spillman Forester appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Karl Spillman Forester was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Karl Spillman Forester's confirmation vote?
- Karl Spillman Forester was confirmed by voice vote on July 26, 1988. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Karl Spillman Forester on?
- Karl Spillman Forester was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
25 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).