Robert Dorsey Watkins
Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Dorsey Watkins was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He earned a law degree from University of Maryland School of Law (now Francis King Carey School of Law) in 1925. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1900–1986
- Appointed by
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1956
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Johns Hopkins 1922 · University of Maryland Law (now Francis King Carey School of Law) 1925
- Succeeded
- William Caldwell Coleman
- Succeeded by
- Joseph H. Young
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | District of Maryland succeeded William Caldwell Coleman | Eisenhower (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
| Johns Hopkins University | A.B. | 1922 |
| Johns Hopkins University | Ph.D. | 1925 |
| University of Maryland School of Law (now Francis King Carey School of Law) | LL.B. | 1925 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Watkins authored 82 published opinions for the court (1955–1982). Most cited: Long v. Robinson (50 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Long v. Robinson | 316 F. Supp. 22 | 50 |
| 1963 | Technograph Printed Circuits, Ltd. v. Bendix Aviation Corp. | 218 F. Supp. 1 | 49 |
| 1976 | C. T. Hellmuth & Associates, Inc. v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | 414 F. Supp. 408 | 41 |
| 1959 | Jennings v. United States | 178 F. Supp. 516 | 35 |
| 1960 | United States v. Ft. George G. Meade Defense Housing Corp. No. 1 | 186 F. Supp. 639 | 31 |
| 1969 | Sas v. State of Maryland | 295 F. Supp. 389 | 30 |
| 1980 | Kralowec v. Prince George's County, Md. | 503 F. Supp. 985 | 29 |
| 1979 | Dart Drug Corp. v. Corning Glass Works | 480 F. Supp. 1091 | 29 |
| 1981 | Holsey v. Bass | 519 F. Supp. 395 | 27 |
| 1966 | Henderson v. Arundel Corporation | 262 F. Supp. 152 | 26 |
| 1957 | State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. West | 149 F. Supp. 289 | 26 |
| 1977 | United Merchants & Manufacturers, Inc. v. David & Dash, Inc. | 439 F. Supp. 1078 | 25 |
| 1964 | McClure v. E. A. Blackshere Co. | 231 F. Supp. 678 | 24 |
| 1958 | Jones v. Fox | 162 F. Supp. 449 | 24 |
| 1957 | Hampton Roads Carriers, Inc. v. Boston Insurance | 150 F. Supp. 338 | 23 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 82 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 Dorsey Watkins?
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Robert Dorsey Watkins to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in 1956.
- Was Robert Dorsey Watkins appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Dorsey Watkins was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert Dorsey Watkins's confirmation vote?
- Robert Dorsey Watkins was confirmed by voice vote on March 1, 1956. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Robert Dorsey Watkins on?
- Robert Dorsey Watkins was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the District of Maryland (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.
30 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).