Mary Elizabeth Phillips
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 95–2, Mary Elizabeth Phillips is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. She earned a law degree from University of Missouri School of Law in 1996. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1969 · age 57
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2012
- Confirmed
- 95–2
- Chief judge
- Western District of Missouri, 2019 to 2025
- Education
- University of Chicago 1991 · University of Missouri Law 1996
- Succeeded
- Ortrie D. Smith
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Western District of Missouri succeeded Ortrie D. Smith chief judge 2019 to 2025 | Obama (D) | 95–2 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 95–2 on March 6, 2012 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 26. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 95
50 D, 43 R, 2 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- 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)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- 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)
- 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)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- 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 · 3
1 D, 2 R
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
Education
| University of Chicago | B.A. | 1991 |
| University of Chicago | M.A. | 1992 |
| University of Missouri School of Law | J.D. | 1996 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Legislative assistant, U.S. Rep. Patsy Ann Danner of Missouri | 1993-1994 |
| Assistant prosecutor, Jackson County, Missouri | 1997-2001 |
| Private practice, Leawood, Kansas | 2001-2008 |
| Special prosecutor, Circuit Court of Missouri, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit | 2002-2008 |
| Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Missouri, 2008-2009; litigation consultant | 2008 |
| U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri | 2009-2012 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Phillips was assigned 3,060 district-court cases (1982–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 202 days across 2,611 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 246 of Phillips’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 214 were affirmed, 26 reversed or vacated, and 6 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 Mary Elizabeth Phillips?
- President Barack Obama appointed Mary Elizabeth Phillips to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 2012.
- Was Mary Elizabeth Phillips appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Mary Elizabeth Phillips was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Mary Elizabeth Phillips's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Mary Elizabeth Phillips 95–2 on March 6, 2012.
- Which court is Mary Elizabeth Phillips on?
- Mary Elizabeth Phillips is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Department of Justice. Billyboy01 at English Wikipedia. Later version(s) were uploaded by Jeremyb at English Wikipedia. (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 Missouri. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).