Who appointed Nancy Torresen?

President Barack Obama appointed Nancy Torresen to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in 2011.

Was Nancy Torresen appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Nancy Torresen was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Nancy Torresen's confirmation vote?

Nancy Torresen was confirmed by voice vote on October 3, 2011. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

District of Maine / Appointed 2011 / Senior status since 2025

Nancy Torresen

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and confirmed by voice vote, Nancy Torresen is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. She earned a law degree from University of Michigan Law School in 1987. Sources ↓

Born: 1959 · age 67
Appointed by: Barack Obama, 2011
Confirmed: by voice vote
Chief judge: District of Maine, 2015 to 2018
Education: Hope College 1981 · University of Michigan Law School 1987
Succeeded: David Brock Hornby

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2011	District of Maine succeeded David Brock Hornby chief judge 2015 to 2018	Obama (D)	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

Hope College	B.A.	1981
University of Michigan Law School	J.D.	1987

Before the bench

Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.

Law clerk, Hon. Conrad K. Cyr, U.S. District Court, District of Maine	1987-1988
Private practice, Washington, D.C.	1988-1990
Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Maine	1990-1994, 2001-2011
Assistant attorney general, State of Maine	1994-2001
Member, Judicial Conference of the United States	2017-2021

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Torresen was assigned 1,193 district-court cases (1999–2025). Median time from filing to termination: 209 days across 1,013 closed cases.

Other civil matters22%

Civil rights15%

Personal-injury torts9%

Criminal9%

Social Security8%

Contract7%

Other29%

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 169 of Torresen’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 145 were affirmed, 17 reversed or vacated, and 7 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 Nancy Torresen?: President Barack Obama appointed Nancy Torresen to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in 2011.
Was Nancy Torresen appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Nancy Torresen was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Nancy Torresen's confirmation vote?: Nancy Torresen was confirmed by voice vote on October 3, 2011. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court is Nancy Torresen on?: Nancy Torresen is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.

Sources

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

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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14 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).