Robert Reynold Merhige Jr.
Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He earned a law degree from University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law (now University of Richmond School of Law) in 1942. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1919–2005
- Appointed by
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 1967
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Richmond T.C. Williams Law (now of Richmond School of Law) 1942
- Succeeded
- John Decker Butzner Jr.
- Succeeded by
- Thomas Selby Ellis III
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Eastern District of Virginia succeeded John Decker Butzner Jr. | L.B. Johnson (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
| University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law (now University of Richmond School of Law) | LL.B. | 1942 |
| University of Virginia School of Law | LL.M. | 1982 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Merhige was assigned 2,103 district-court cases (1977–1998). Median time from filing to termination: 187 days across 2,103 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 41 of Merhige’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 37 were affirmed, 3 reversed or vacated, and 1 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, Merhige authored 406 published opinions for the court (1967–1998). Most cited: Landman v. Royster (206 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Landman v. Royster | 333 F. Supp. 621 | 206 |
| 1968 | Stevens v. Abbott, Proctor & Paine | 288 F. Supp. 836 | 64 |
| 1988 | In Re AH Robins Co., Inc. | 88 B.R. 742 | 63 |
| 1990 | Nossen v. Hoy | 750 F. Supp. 740 | 61 |
| 1987 | Saunders v. General Services Corp. | 659 F. Supp. 1042 | 52 |
| 1981 | Hodson v. AH Robins Co., Inc. | 528 F. Supp. 809 | 50 |
| 1973 | River v. Richmond Metropolitan Authority | 359 F. Supp. 611 | 50 |
| 1991 | Zaczek v. Fauquier County, Va. | 764 F. Supp. 1071 | 49 |
| 1973 | Landman v. Royster | 354 F. Supp. 1302 | 49 |
| 1985 | Chesapeake Foundation v. Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. | 611 F. Supp. 1542 | 47 |
| 1975 | Powers v. Sims and Levin Realtors | 396 F. Supp. 12 | 45 |
| 1986 | American & For. Ins. v. Church Sch., Diocese of Va. | 645 F. Supp. 628 | 42 |
| 1974 | Canty v. City of Richmond, Va., Police Dept. | 383 F. Supp. 1396 | 42 |
| 1983 | Davidson v. Cook | 567 F. Supp. 225 | 41 |
| 1973 | Lovisi v. Slayton | 363 F. Supp. 620 | 41 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 406 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 Reynold Merhige Jr.?
- President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in 1967.
- Was Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert Reynold Merhige Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. was confirmed by voice vote on August 18, 1967. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. on?
- Robert Reynold Merhige Jr. was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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.
30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).