Michael Yale Scudder Jr.
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and confirmed by the Senate 90–0, Michael Yale Scudder Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) in 1998. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1971 · age 55
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2018
- Confirmed
- 90–0
- Education
- St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, Indiana 1993 · Northwestern Law (now Pritzker School of Law) 1998
- Succeeded
- Richard Allen Posner
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Seventh Circuit succeeded Richard Allen Posner | Trump (R) | 90–0 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 90–0 on May 14, 2018 · 115th Congress, Roll Call 92. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 90
44 D, 44 R, 2 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-MS)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Doug Jones(D-AL)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Tina Smith(D-MN)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Did not vote · 10
3 D, 7 R
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
Education
| St. Joseph’s College, Rensselaer, Indiana | B.B.A. | 1993 |
| Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) | J.D. | 1998 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Scudder authored 305 published opinions for the court (2019–2026). Most cited: Jennifer Karr v. Andrew Saul (524 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jennifer Karr v. Andrew Saul | 989 F.3d 508 | 524 |
| 2021 | Adrian Thomas v. James Blackard | 2 F.4th 716 | 493 |
| 2020 | Gail Martin v. Andrew M. Saul | 950 F.3d 369 | 427 |
| 2022 | Joanne Kaminski v. Elite Staffing, Inc. | 23 F.4th 774 | 255 |
| 2020 | Levi A. Lord v. Joseph Beahm | 952 F.3d 902 | 229 |
| 2020 | Damon Goodloe v. Kul Sood | 947 F.3d 1026 | 222 |
| 2022 | Mitchell Zimmerman v. Glenn Bornick | 25 F.4th 491 | 213 |
| 2022 | William Watts v. Mark Kidman | 42 F.4th 755 | 203 |
| 2020 | Leif Hinterberger v. City of Indianapolis | 966 F.3d 523 | 128 |
| 2021 | J. B. v. Tiffany Woodard | 997 F.3d 714 | 124 |
| 2022 | Danielle Albert v. Kilolo Kijakazi | 34 F.4th 611 | 118 |
| 2024 | Reginald Pittman v. Madison County, Illinois | 108 F.4th 561 | 106 |
| 2021 | Marque Bowers v. Thomas Dart | 1 F.4th 513 | 96 |
| 2019 | DeWayne Knight v. Thomas Grossman | 942 F.3d 336 | 90 |
| 2022 | William Jones v. Jay Van Lanen | 27 F.4th 1280 | 85 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 305 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 Yale Scudder Jr.?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Michael Yale Scudder Jr. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2018.
- Was Michael Yale Scudder Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Michael Yale Scudder Jr. was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Michael Yale Scudder Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Michael Yale Scudder Jr. 90–0 on May 14, 2018.
- Which court is Michael Yale Scudder Jr. on?
- Michael Yale Scudder Jr. is 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. Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2018)
- 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.
8 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).