Robert Edward Varner
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Edward Varner was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. He earned a law degree from University of Alabama School of Law in 1949. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1921–2006
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1971
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Auburn 1942 · University of Alabama Law 1949
- Succeeded by
- Joel Fredrick Dubina
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Middle District of Alabama | Nixon (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
| Auburn University | B.S. | 1942 |
| University of Alabama School of Law | J.D. | 1949 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Varner was assigned 382 district-court cases (1988–1999). Median time from filing to termination: 251 days across 382 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, Varner authored 84 published opinions for the court (1971–1996). Most cited: McKinney v. Kaminsky (36 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | McKinney v. Kaminsky | 340 F. Supp. 289 | 36 |
| 1975 | Majors v. Kalo Laboratories, Inc. | 407 F. Supp. 20 | 30 |
| 1974 | Gore v. Tri-County Raceway, Inc. | 407 F. Supp. 489 | 26 |
| 1976 | Pate v. Alabama Bd. of Pardons and Paroles | 409 F. Supp. 478 | 23 |
| 1974 | West Point-Pepperell, Inc. v. Bradshaw | 377 F. Supp. 154 | 22 |
| 1990 | George v. United States | 735 F. Supp. 1524 | 19 |
| 1990 | Harris v. Thigpen | 727 F. Supp. 1564 | 17 |
| 1972 | Seibold v. Daniels | 337 F. Supp. 210 | 17 |
| 1980 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. | 490 F. Supp. 1245 | 16 |
| 1975 | Golatte v. Mathews | 394 F. Supp. 1203 | 15 |
| 1972 | White v. Great American Insurance Co. of New York | 343 F. Supp. 1112 | 15 |
| 1982 | McGhee v. Housing Authority of City of Lanett | 543 F. Supp. 607 | 14 |
| 1983 | Miller v. Schweiker | 560 F. Supp. 838 | 13 |
| 1993 | Borden v. CSX Transportation, Inc. | 843 F. Supp. 1410 | 12 |
| 1974 | Nwankpa v. Kissinger | 376 F. Supp. 122 | 12 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 84 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 Edward Varner?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed Robert Edward Varner to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in 1971.
- Was Robert Edward Varner appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Edward Varner was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert Edward Varner's confirmation vote?
- Robert Edward Varner was confirmed by voice vote on April 21, 1971. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Robert Edward Varner on?
- Robert Edward Varner was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- 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.
35 years on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).