Robert James McNichols
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert James McNichols was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. He earned a law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1952. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1922–1993
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1979
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Gonzaga Law 1952
- Succeeded by
- William Fremming Nielsen
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Eastern District of Washington | Carter (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
| Gonzaga University School of Law | LL.B. | 1952 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, McNichols was assigned 1,093 district-court cases (1976–1992). Median time from filing to termination: 328 days across 1,093 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.
In our data, McNichols authored 39 published opinions for the court (1980–1992). Most cited: Kinsey v. NESTOR EXPLORATION LTD.-1981A (46 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Kinsey v. NESTOR EXPLORATION LTD.-1981A | 604 F. Supp. 1365 | 46 |
| 1988 | United States v. Salgado | 692 F. Supp. 1265 | 37 |
| 1986 | Jeffries v. Reed | 631 F. Supp. 1212 | 22 |
| 1990 | United States v. Boshell | 728 F. Supp. 632 | 20 |
| 1984 | Hale v. United States | 579 F. Supp. 646 | 17 |
| 1986 | Allianz Insurance v. Impero | 654 F. Supp. 16 | 16 |
| 1986 | Holst v. Bowen | 637 F. Supp. 145 | 16 |
| 1982 | Demos v. Kincheloe | 563 F. Supp. 30 | 14 |
| 1986 | Bower v. Bunker Hill Co. | 675 F. Supp. 1254 | 13 |
| 1986 | Kartevold v. Spokane County Fire Protection District No. 9 | 625 F. Supp. 1553 | 12 |
| 1989 | Berg v. Esposito (In Re Oxborrow) | 104 B.R. 356 | 11 |
| 1986 | Derby v. Bowen | 636 F. Supp. 803 | 11 |
| 1992 | Klein v. Secretary of Transportation | 807 F. Supp. 1517 | 10 |
| 1991 | Spokane Tribe of Indians v. United States | 782 F. Supp. 520 | 9 |
| 1982 | LaDuke v. Nelson | 560 F. Supp. 158 | 9 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 39 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 McNichols?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Robert James McNichols to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in 1979.
- Was Robert James McNichols appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert James McNichols was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert James McNichols's confirmation vote?
- Robert James McNichols was confirmed by voice vote on December 5, 1979. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Robert James McNichols on?
- Robert James McNichols was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
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.
13 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).