Robert F. Kelly
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert F. Kelly is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) in 1960. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1935 · age 91
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1987
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Villanova 1957 · Temple Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) 1960
- Succeeded
- Donald West VanArtsdalen
- Succeeded by
- Michael M. Baylson
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Eastern District of Pennsylvania succeeded Donald West VanArtsdalen | Reagan (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
| Villanova University | B.S. | 1957 |
| Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) | LL.B. | 1960 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Kelly was assigned 5,097 district-court cases (1986–2019). Median time from filing to termination: 202 days across 5,093 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 89 of Kelly’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 77 were affirmed, 9 reversed or vacated, and 3 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, Kelly authored 21 published opinions for the court (2006–2011). Most cited: Atchison v. Sears (26 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Atchison v. Sears | 666 F. Supp. 2d 477 | 26 |
| 2007 | Healthcare Advocates, Inc. v. Harding, Earley, Follmer & Frailey | 497 F. Supp. 2d 627 | 20 |
| 2011 | Thomer v. Allstate Insurance | 790 F. Supp. 2d 360 | 19 |
| 2007 | Gannon v. United States | 571 F. Supp. 2d 615 | 10 |
| 2009 | Purnell v. Astrue | 662 F. Supp. 2d 402 | 5 |
| 2009 | Mracek v. Bryn Mawr Hospital | 610 F. Supp. 2d 401 | 5 |
| 2006 | Taylor v. Mooney Aircraft Corp. | 430 F. Supp. 2d 417 | 5 |
| 2011 | Matin v. FULTON, FRIEDMAN & GULLACE LLP | 826 F. Supp. 2d 808 | 4 |
| 2010 | United States v. Georgiou | 742 F. Supp. 2d 613 | 4 |
| 2010 | Roofers Local No. 30 Combined Pension Fund v. D.A. Nolt, Inc. | 719 F. Supp. 2d 530 | 4 |
| 2006 | Agrizap, Inc. v. Woodstream Corp. | 450 F. Supp. 2d 562 | 4 |
| 2008 | Maule v. Philadelphia Media Holdings, LLC | 710 F. Supp. 2d 511 | 3 |
| 2008 | Local Union 30, United Union of Roofers Workers v. D.A. Nolt, Inc. | 625 F. Supp. 2d 223 | 3 |
| 2008 | Doroshow v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance | 560 F. Supp. 2d 392 | 2 |
| 2006 | Taylor v. Mooney Aircraft Corp. | 464 F. Supp. 2d 439 | 2 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 21 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 F. Kelly?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Robert F. Kelly to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1987.
- Was Robert F. Kelly appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert F. Kelly was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert F. Kelly's confirmation vote?
- Robert F. Kelly was confirmed by voice vote on June 25, 1987. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Robert F. Kelly on?
- Robert F. Kelly is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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.
39 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).