Robert Gillespie James
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1998 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Gillespie James is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He earned a law degree from Louisiana State University Law School (now Paul M. Hebert Law Center) in 1971. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1946 · age 80
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1998
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Louisiana Tech 1968 · Louisiana State Law School (now Paul M. Hebert Law Center) 1971
- Succeeded
- John Malach Shaw
- Succeeded by
- Terry Alvin Doughty
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Western District of Louisiana succeeded John Malach Shaw | 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
| Louisiana Tech University | B.A. | 1968 |
| Louisiana State University Law School (now Paul M. Hebert Law Center) | J.D. | 1971 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, James was assigned 3,907 district-court cases (1965–2020). Median time from filing to termination: 224 days across 3,902 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 187 of James’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 160 were affirmed, 21 reversed or vacated, and 6 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, James authored 24 published opinions for the court (1999–2011). Most cited: North Louisiana Rehabilitation Center, Inc. v. United States (20 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | North Louisiana Rehabilitation Center, Inc. v. United States | 179 F. Supp. 2d 658 | 20 |
| 2008 | Rollins v. St. Jude Medical | 583 F. Supp. 2d 790 | 18 |
| 2007 | United States Ex Rel. Roberts v. Aging Care Home Health, Inc. | 474 F. Supp. 2d 810 | 7 |
| 2009 | Monroe Firefighters Ass'n v. City of Monroe | 600 F. Supp. 2d 790 | 6 |
| 2008 | Cleveland v. Union Parish School Board | 570 F. Supp. 2d 858 | 5 |
| 2011 | United States v. Stevens | 778 F. Supp. 2d 683 | 2 |
| 2011 | Parker v. DUFRESNE | 781 F. Supp. 2d 379 | 2 |
| 2010 | Montgomery v. SEARS ROEBUCK & CO. | 720 F. Supp. 2d 738 | 2 |
| 2009 | United States v. Kimes | 624 F. Supp. 2d 565 | 2 |
| 2007 | Owens v. Town of Delhi | 469 F. Supp. 2d 403 | 2 |
| 2001 | Harris v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. | 178 F. Supp. 2d 680 | 2 |
| 2011 | Sitaram, Inc. v. New Hampshire Insurance | 771 F. Supp. 2d 624 | 1 |
| 2010 | United States v. Martin | 679 F. Supp. 2d 723 | 1 |
| 2008 | Poindexter v. United States Ex Rel. Corps of Engineers | 568 F. Supp. 2d 729 | 1 |
| 2007 | United States v. West Carroll Parish School District | 477 F. Supp. 2d 759 | 1 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 24 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 Gillespie James?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Robert Gillespie James to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in 1998.
- Was Robert Gillespie James appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Gillespie James 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 Gillespie James's confirmation vote?
- Robert Gillespie James was confirmed by voice vote on July 31, 1998. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Robert Gillespie James on?
- Robert Gillespie James is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
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 Louisiana. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).