Otto Richard Skopil Jr.
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and confirmed by voice vote, Otto Richard Skopil Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He earned a law degree from Willamette University College of Law in 1946. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1919–2012
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1979
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Willamette 1941 · Willamette College of Law 1946
- Succeeded by
- Edward Leavy
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | District of Oregon succeeded Alfred Theodore Goodwin | Nixon (R) | Voice vote |
| 1979 | Ninth Circuit | Carter (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
| Willamette University | B.A. | 1941 |
| Willamette University College of Law | LL.B. | 1946 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Skopil authored 38 published opinions for the court (1972–1979). Most cited: United States v. Armsbury (47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | United States v. Armsbury | 408 F. Supp. 1130 | 47 |
| 1975 | Woods v. Beneficial Finance Co. of Eugene | 395 F. Supp. 9 | 41 |
| 1975 | Croshaw v. Koninklijke Nedlloyd, B. v. Rijswijk | 398 F. Supp. 1224 | 32 |
| 1977 | Citizens Against Toxic Sprays, Inc. v. Bergland | 428 F. Supp. 908 | 28 |
| 1973 | Dobbins v. Kawasaki Motors Corporation, USA | 362 F. Supp. 54 | 25 |
| 1972 | Securities & Exchange Commission v. Glenn W. Turner Enterprises, Inc. | 348 F. Supp. 766 | 21 |
| 1977 | Peterson v. Harville | 445 F. Supp. 16 | 20 |
| 1974 | Hutchison v. Lake Oswego School District No. 7 | 374 F. Supp. 1056 | 20 |
| 1972 | Pyle v. Wolf Corporation | 354 F. Supp. 346 | 15 |
| 1977 | Atwood v. Pacific Maritime Ass'n | 432 F. Supp. 491 | 14 |
| 1975 | United States v. Martyniuk | 395 F. Supp. 42 | 14 |
| 1977 | Southern Oregon Production Credit Ass'n v. Oil Screw Sweet Pea | 435 F. Supp. 454 | 12 |
| 1975 | United States v. Osborn | 409 F. Supp. 406 | 11 |
| 1978 | Independence Mortgage Trust v. White | 446 F. Supp. 120 | 10 |
| 1977 | United States v. Crookshanks | 441 F. Supp. 268 | 10 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 38 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 Otto Richard Skopil Jr.?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Otto Richard Skopil Jr. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1979.
- Was Otto Richard Skopil Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Otto Richard Skopil Jr. was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Otto Richard Skopil Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- Otto Richard Skopil Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on September 25, 1979. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Otto Richard Skopil Jr. on?
- Otto Richard Skopil Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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33 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).