Patricia McGowan Wald
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and confirmed by the Senate 77–21, Patricia McGowan Wald was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1951. Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1928–2019
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1979
- Confirmed
- 77–21
- Chief judge
- District of Columbia Circuit, 1986 to 1991
- Education
- Connecticut College for Women (now Connecticut College) 1948 · Yale Law School 1951
- Succeeded by
- Thomas Beall Griffith
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | District of Columbia Circuit chief judge 1986 to 1991 | Carter (D) | 77–21 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
The Senate’s published per-senator roll-call records begin in 1989, so no senator-by-senator breakdown is available for this vote.
Education
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Law clerk, Hon. Jerome Frank, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | 1951-1952 |
| Private practice, Washington, D.C. | 1952-1953 |
| Research and editorial assistant, Frederick M. Rowe, Esq. | 1959-1962 |
| Member, National Conference on Bail and Criminal Justice | 1963-1964 |
| Consultant, National Conference on Law & Poverty, Office of Economic Opportunity | 1965 |
| Member, President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia | 1965-1966 |
| Consultant, President's Commission on Law Enforcement & Administration of Criminal Justice | 1966-1967 |
| Attorney, Office of Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of Justice | 1967-1968 |
| Attorney, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, Washington, D.C. | 1968-1970 |
| Consultant, National Advisory Committee on Civil Disorder | 1968 |
| Consultant, National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence | 1969 |
| Co-director, Ford Foundation Drug Abuse Research Project | 1970 |
| Attorney, Center for Law and Social Policy, Washington, D.C. | 1971-1972 |
| Director, Office of Policy and Issues, Sargent Shriver Vice-Presidential Campaign | 1972 |
| Attorney, Mental Health Law Project, Washington, D.C. | 1972-1977 |
| Assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, U.S. Department of Justice | 1977-1979 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 1986-1990 |
| Member, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia | 1999-2001 |
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Patricia McGowan Wald?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Patricia McGowan Wald to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1979.
- Was Patricia McGowan Wald appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Patricia McGowan Wald was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Patricia McGowan Wald's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Patricia McGowan Wald 77–21 on July 24, 1979.
- Which court was Patricia McGowan Wald on?
- Patricia McGowan Wald was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 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.
20 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).