Michael Stephen Kanne
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and confirmed by voice vote, Michael Stephen Kanne was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned a law degree from Indiana University School of Law -- Bloomington (now Maurer School of Law) in 1968. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1938–2022
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1987
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Indiana 1962 · Indiana Law -- Bloomington (now Maurer School of Law) 1968
- Succeeded
- Jesse Ernest Eschbach
- Succeeded by
- Joshua Paul Kolar
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Northern District of Indiana succeeded Phil McClellan McNagny Jr. | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
| 1987 | Seventh Circuit succeeded Jesse Ernest Eschbach | 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
| Indiana University | B.S. | 1962 |
| Indiana University School of Law -- Bloomington (now Maurer School of Law) | J.D. | 1968 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Kanne authored 558 published opinions for the court (1982–2022). Most cited: Mildred Thomas v. Carolyn Colvin (559 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Mildred Thomas v. Carolyn Colvin | 745 F.3d 802 | 559 |
| 2020 | Michelle Jeske v. Andrew M. Saul | 955 F.3d 583 | 518 |
| 2021 | Pooja Khungar v. Access Community Health Networ | 985 F.3d 565 | 514 |
| 2015 | Cathleen Silha v. ACT, Inc. | 807 F.3d 169 | 495 |
| 2021 | Deborah Morgan v. Andrew Saul | 994 F.3d 785 | 449 |
| 2013 | Cincinnati Life Insurance Comp v. Marjorie Beyrer | 722 F.3d 939 | 448 |
| 2013 | Apex Digital, Incorporated v. Sears, Roebuck & Company | 735 F.3d 962 | 441 |
| 2014 | Joshua Bunn v. Khoury Enterprises, Inc. | 753 F.3d 676 | 308 |
| 2016 | Berger v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n | 843 F.3d 285 | 278 |
| 2015 | James Turnell v. Centimark Corporation | 796 F.3d 656 | 269 |
| 2020 | James Donald v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc. | 982 F.3d 451 | 267 |
| 2014 | Alex Vesely v. Armslist LLC | 762 F.3d 661 | 231 |
| 2016 | Peggy Zahn v. North American Power & Gas, LL | 815 F.3d 1082 | 228 |
| 2014 | Floyd Richardson v. Michael Lemke | 745 F.3d 258 | 204 |
| 2020 | Sandra Bazile v. Finance System of Green Bay, I | 983 F.3d 274 | 193 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 558 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 Michael Stephen Kanne?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Michael Stephen Kanne to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1987.
- Was Michael Stephen Kanne appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Michael Stephen Kanne was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Michael Stephen Kanne's confirmation vote?
- Michael Stephen Kanne was confirmed by voice vote on May 19, 1987. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Michael Stephen Kanne on?
- Michael Stephen Kanne was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: U.S. 7th Circuit Court (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- 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.
35 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).