Who appointed Michael Joseph Melloy?

President George W. Bush appointed Michael Joseph Melloy to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 2002.

Was Michael Joseph Melloy appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Michael Joseph Melloy was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Michael Joseph Melloy's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Michael Joseph Melloy 91–0 on February 11, 2002.

Eighth Circuit / Appointed 2002 / Senior status since 2013

Michael Joseph Melloy

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002 and confirmed by the Senate 91–0, Michael Joseph Melloy is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Iowa College of Law in 1974. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓

Born: 1948 · age 78
Appointed by: George W. Bush, 2002
Confirmed: 91–0
Education: Loras College 1970 · University of Iowa College of Law 1974
Succeeded: George Gardner Fagg
Succeeded by: Jane Louise Kelly

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1992	Northern District of Iowa succeeded David Rasmussen Hansen	G.H.W. Bush (R)	Voice vote
2002	Eighth Circuit succeeded George Gardner Fagg	G.W. Bush (R)	91–0

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

Nomination Confirmed 91–0 on February 11, 2002 · 107th Congress, Roll Call 21. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 91

48 D, 42 R, 1 I

Did not vote · 9

2 D, 7 R

Education

Loras College	B.A.	1970
University of Iowa College of Law	J.D.	1974

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Melloy was assigned 2,182 district-court cases (1985–2003). Median time from filing to termination: 210 days across 2,178 closed cases.

Prisoner & habeas50%

Civil rights12%

Contract9%

Personal-injury torts8%

Social Security6%

Labor & ERISA4%

Other11%

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 29 of Melloy’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 28 were affirmed, 0 reversed or vacated, and 1 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, Melloy authored 39 published opinions for the court (1992–2002). Most cited: Burrow Ex Rel. Burrow v. Postville Community School District (43 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
1996	Burrow Ex Rel. Burrow v. Postville Community School District	929 F. Supp. 1193	43
2001	St. Luke's Methodist Hospital v. Thompson	182 F. Supp. 2d 765	24
1993	Slagenweit v. Slagenweit	841 F. Supp. 264	24
1992	Islami v. Covenant Medical Center, Inc.	822 F. Supp. 1361	24
1999	Cunningham v. PFL Life Insurance	42 F. Supp. 2d 872	23
1997	Green Products Co. v. Independence Corn By-Products Co.	992 F. Supp. 1070	15
1996	Moore Business Forms, Inc. v. Wilson	953 F. Supp. 1056	12
2001	Engineered Products Co. v. Donaldson Co., Inc.	165 F. Supp. 2d 836	11
1996	Nelson v. DeKalb Swine Breeders, Inc.	952 F. Supp. 622	11
1995	United States v. Mercy Health Services	902 F. Supp. 968	11
1995	United States v. Fountain	885 F. Supp. 185	11
2001	In Re Kloubec	268 B.R. 173	10
1997	United States v. Smith	964 F. Supp. 286	10
2001	Flockhart v. Iowa Beef Processors, Inc.	192 F. Supp. 2d 947	9
1997	Pauly v. Eagle Point Software Co., Inc.	958 F. Supp. 437	9

Showing the 15 most-cited of 39 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 Joseph Melloy?: President George W. Bush appointed Michael Joseph Melloy to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 2002.
Was Michael Joseph Melloy appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Michael Joseph Melloy was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Michael Joseph Melloy's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Michael Joseph Melloy 91–0 on February 11, 2002.
Which court is Michael Joseph Melloy on?: Michael Joseph Melloy is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Sources

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

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.

24 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).