Robert Toombs Dawson
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1998 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Toombs Dawson is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. He earned a law degree from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1965. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1938 · age 88
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1998
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Arkansas 1960 · University of Arkansas Law 1965
- Succeeded
- Hugh Franklin Waters
- Succeeded by
- Paul Kinloch Holmes III
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Western District of Arkansas succeeded Hugh Franklin Waters | Clinton (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
| University of Arkansas | B.A. | 1960 |
| University of Arkansas School of Law | LL.B. | 1965 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Dawson was assigned 2,351 district-court cases (1989–2022). Median time from filing to termination: 199 days across 2,351 closed cases.
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 109 of Dawson’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 87 were affirmed, 9 reversed or vacated, and 13 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, Dawson authored 71 published opinions for the court (1998–2011). Most cited: Freeman v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (30 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Freeman v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | 256 F. Supp. 2d 941 | 30 |
| 2002 | CANNOM v. Elk Horn Bank and Trust | 258 F. Supp. 2d 908 | 11 |
| 2005 | Miller v. Subiaco Academy | 386 F. Supp. 2d 1025 | 10 |
| 2009 | Fields v. Wyeth, Inc. | 613 F. Supp. 2d 1056 | 9 |
| 2011 | Miller v. Meyers | 766 F. Supp. 2d 919 | 6 |
| 2009 | Cincinnati Insurance Companies v. Collier Landholdings, LLC | 614 F. Supp. 2d 960 | 6 |
| 2003 | McMEIL v. Jantran, Inc. | 258 F. Supp. 2d 926 | 6 |
| 2002 | McCarthy v. Boozman | 212 F. Supp. 2d 945 | 6 |
| 2002 | International Paper Co. v. MCI Worldcom Network Services, Inc. | 202 F. Supp. 2d 895 | 6 |
| 2001 | Steel v. Alma Public School District | 162 F. Supp. 2d 1083 | 6 |
| 1998 | Lyles v. City of Barling | 17 F. Supp. 2d 848 | 6 |
| 2011 | Ramos-Madrigal v. Mendiola Forestry Service, LLC | 799 F. Supp. 2d 958 | 5 |
| 2009 | Newman v. Norris | 597 F. Supp. 2d 890 | 5 |
| 2003 | Nobel Insurance v. Austin Powder Co. | 256 F. Supp. 2d 937 | 4 |
| 2002 | Backus v. Mena Newspapers, Inc. | 224 F. Supp. 2d 1228 | 4 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 71 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 Toombs Dawson?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Robert Toombs Dawson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in 1998.
- Was Robert Toombs Dawson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Toombs Dawson was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert Toombs Dawson's confirmation vote?
- Robert Toombs Dawson was confirmed by voice vote on April 2, 1998. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Robert Toombs Dawson on?
- Robert Toombs Dawson is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
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
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
28 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).