Robert Michael Dow Jr.
Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007 and confirmed by the Senate 86–0, Robert Michael Dow Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1993. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1965 · age 61
- Appointed by
- George W. Bush, 2007
- Confirmed
- 86–0
- Education
- Yale 1987 · Harvard Law School 1993
- Succeeded
- Charles Petros Kocoras
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Northern District of Illinois succeeded Charles Petros Kocoras | G.W. Bush (R) | 86–0 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 86–0 on November 13, 2007 · 110th Congress, Roll Call 408. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 86
44 D, 41 R, 1 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- A. Allard(R-CO)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Evan Bayh(D-IN)
- Robert Bennett(R-UT)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Samuel Brownback(R-KS)
- Jim Bunning(R-KY)
- Robert Byrd(D-WV)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Norm Coleman(R-MN)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Larry Craig(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Elizabeth Dole(R-NC)
- Pete Domenici(R-NM)
- Byron Dorgan(D-ND)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Russ Feingold(D-WI)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Judd Gregg(R-NH)
- Chuck Hagel(R-NE)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Edward Kennedy(D-MA)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Blanche Lincoln(D-AR)
- Trent Lott(R-MS)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Ken Salazar(D-CO)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Gordon Smith(R-OR)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Arlen Specter(R-PA)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Ted Stevens(R-AK)
- John Sununu(R-NH)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- George Voinovich(R-OH)
- John Warner(R-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 14
5 D, 8 R, 1 I
- Joe Biden(D-DE)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Hillary Clinton(D-NY)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- John Ensign(R-NV)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Mel Martinez(R-FL)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Barack Obama(D-IL)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
Education
| Yale University | B.A. | 1987 |
| University of Oxford | D.Phil. | 1990 |
| Harvard Law School | J.D. | 1993 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Dow was assigned 3,729 district-court cases (1979–2022). Median time from filing to termination: 189 days across 3,713 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 158 of Dow’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 129 were affirmed, 20 reversed or vacated, and 9 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, Dow authored 68 published opinions for the court (2008–2012). Most cited: ABN AMRO, Inc. v. Capital International Ltd. (60 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
Showing the 15 most-cited of 68 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 Michael Dow Jr.?
- President George W. Bush appointed Robert Michael Dow Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2007.
- Was Robert Michael Dow Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Michael Dow Jr. 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 Michael Dow Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Robert Michael Dow Jr. 86–0 on November 13, 2007.
- Which court is Robert Michael Dow Jr. on?
- Robert Michael Dow Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2007)
- 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.
18 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).