Who appointed Robert E. Blackburn?

President George W. Bush appointed Robert E. Blackburn to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 2002.

Was Robert E. Blackburn appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Robert E. Blackburn was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Robert E. Blackburn's confirmation vote?

The Senate confirmed Robert E. Blackburn 98–0 on February 26, 2002.

District of Colorado / Appointed 2002 / Senior status since 2016

Robert E. Blackburn

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

Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002 and confirmed by the Senate 98–0, Robert E. Blackburn is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. He earned a law degree from University of Colorado Law School in 1974. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Born: 1950 · age 76
Appointed by: George W. Bush, 2002
Confirmed: 98–0
Education: Western State College (now Western State Colorado) 1972 · University of Colorado Law School 1974
Succeeded: Zita Leeson Weinshienk
Succeeded by: Daniel Desmond Domenico

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2002	District of Colorado succeeded Zita Leeson Weinshienk	G.W. Bush (R)	98–0

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.

Confirmation vote

Nomination Confirmed 98–0 on February 26, 2002 · 107th Congress, Roll Call 35. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.

Voted to confirm · 98

50 D, 47 R, 1 I

Did not vote · 2

2 R

John Ensign(R-NV)
James Inhofe(R-OK)

Education

Western State College (now Western State Colorado University)	B.A.	1972
University of Colorado Law School	J.D.	1974

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Blackburn was assigned 6,691 district-court cases (1980–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 238 days across 6,383 closed cases.

Criminal46%

Contract10%

Social Security8%

Other federal statutes8%

Prisoner & habeas5%

Civil rights5%

Other17%

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 313 of Blackburn’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 271 were affirmed, 25 reversed or vacated, and 17 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, Blackburn authored 42 published opinions for the court (2002–2012). Most cited: In Re Qwest Communications International, Inc. Securities Litigation (57 citations).

A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.

Recent & notable rulings

Year	Case	Citation	Cited
2004	In Re Qwest Communications International, Inc. Securities Litigation	396 F. Supp. 2d 1178	57
2008	Parker v. Stryker Corp.	584 F. Supp. 2d 1298	37
2005	In Re Qwest Communications International, Inc. Securities Litigation	387 F. Supp. 2d 1130	16
2010	Arkansas Valley Drilling, Inc. v. Continental Western Insurance Company	703 F. Supp. 2d 1232	11
2009	Robinson v. Dean Foods Co.	654 F. Supp. 2d 1268	11
2009	McClenahan v. Metropolitan Life Insurance	621 F. Supp. 2d 1135	11
2010	United States v. Strandlof	746 F. Supp. 2d 1183	9
2004	Estate of Hill v. Allstate Insurance	354 F. Supp. 2d 1192	9
2007	Allison v. Wise	621 F. Supp. 2d 1114	8
2004	Wausau Business Insurance v. US Motels Management, Inc.	341 F. Supp. 2d 1180	8
2007	LPP Mortgage Ltd. v. Hotaling	497 F. Supp. 2d 1217	7
2002	San Juan Citizens' Alliance v. Babbitt	228 F. Supp. 2d 1224	7
2005	Simpson v. University of Colorado	372 F. Supp. 2d 1229	5
2003	In Re Qwest Communications International, Inc. Securities Litigation	243 F. Supp. 2d 1179	5
2009	Rocky Mountain Christian Church v. Board of County Commissioners	612 F. Supp. 2d 1163	4

Showing the 15 most-cited of 42 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 Robert E. Blackburn?: President George W. Bush appointed Robert E. Blackburn to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 2002.
Was Robert E. Blackburn appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Robert E. Blackburn was appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Robert E. Blackburn's confirmation vote?: The Senate confirmed Robert E. Blackburn 98–0 on February 26, 2002.
Which court is Robert E. Blackburn on?: Robert E. Blackburn is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

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. District Court for the District of Colorado. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).