Robert James Jonker
Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert James Jonker is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. He earned a law degree from University of Michigan Law School in 1985. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1960 · age 66
- Appointed by
- George W. Bush, 2007
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Calvin College 1982 · University of Michigan Law School 1985
- Succeeded
- Gordon Jay Quist
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Western District of Michigan succeeded Gordon Jay Quist | G.W. Bush (R) | 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
| Calvin College | B.A. | 1982 |
| University of Michigan Law School | J.D. | 1985 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Jonker was assigned 4,581 district-court cases (1992–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 154 days across 3,948 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 713 of Jonker’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 612 were affirmed, 58 reversed or vacated, and 43 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, Jonker authored 28 published opinions for the court (2007–2011). Most cited: Cox v. Curtin (13 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Cox v. Curtin | 698 F. Supp. 2d 918 | 13 |
| 2009 | United States v. Peoples | 668 F. Supp. 2d 1042 | 12 |
| 2008 | Rockwell v. Palmer | 559 F. Supp. 2d 817 | 12 |
| 2010 | Hudson v. Caruso | 748 F. Supp. 2d 721 | 11 |
| 2008 | Timmon v. Wood | 633 F. Supp. 2d 453 | 11 |
| 2011 | Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | 764 F. Supp. 2d 914 | 10 |
| 2009 | Shields v. Charter Tp. of Comstock | 617 F. Supp. 2d 606 | 10 |
| 2009 | Boyd v. Engman | 404 B.R. 467 | 10 |
| 2009 | CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Meserole Street Recycling | 618 F. Supp. 2d 753 | 8 |
| 2011 | Thompson v. CREDIT UNION FINANCIAL GROUP | 453 B.R. 823 | 6 |
| 2009 | Bletz Ex Rel. Estate of Bletz v. Gribble | 640 F. Supp. 2d 907 | 4 |
| 2010 | Bender v. Newell Window Furnishings, Inc. | 725 F. Supp. 2d 642 | 3 |
| 2009 | Balzer v. Bay Winds Federal Credit Union | 622 F. Supp. 2d 628 | 3 |
| 2009 | Allstate Insurance v. Tricare Management Activity | 662 F. Supp. 2d 883 | 2 |
| 2009 | Broderick v. 119TCBAY, LLC | 670 F. Supp. 2d 612 | 2 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 28 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 James Jonker?
- President George W. Bush appointed Robert James Jonker to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in 2007.
- Was Robert James Jonker appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert James Jonker 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 James Jonker's confirmation vote?
- Robert James Jonker was confirmed by voice vote on July 9, 2007. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Robert James Jonker on?
- Robert James Jonker is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
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.
19 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).