Who appointed Ross Thompson Roberts?

President Ronald Reagan appointed Ross Thompson Roberts to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 1982.

Was Ross Thompson Roberts appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Ross Thompson Roberts was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Ross Thompson Roberts's confirmation vote?

Ross Thompson Roberts was confirmed by voice vote on August 20, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Western District of Missouri / Appointed 1982 / Served to 1987

Ross Thompson Roberts

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and confirmed by voice vote, Ross Thompson Roberts was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. He earned a law degree from University of Missouri School of Law in 1963. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1938–1987
Appointed by: Ronald Reagan, 1982
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: DePauw 1960 · University of Missouri Law 1963
Succeeded: John R. Gibson
Succeeded by: Dean Whipple

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1982	Western District of Missouri succeeded John R. Gibson	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

DePauw University	B.A.	1960
University of Missouri School of Law	J.D.	1963

Judicial Record

In our data, Roberts authored 22 published opinions for the court (1982–1988). Most cited: White Industries, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co. (69 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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	White Industries, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co.	611 F. Supp. 1049	69
1983	Rose v. Arkansas Valley Environmental & Utility Authority	562 F. Supp. 1180	64
1985	Houk v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.	613 F. Supp. 923	54
1984	Nika Corp. v. City of Kansas City, Mo.	582 F. Supp. 343	31
1984	United States v. Amoco Oil Co.	580 F. Supp. 1042	23
1985	Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Financial Assurance, Inc.	624 F. Supp. 686	22
1984	Wright v. Newman	598 F. Supp. 1178	21
1983	Adams v. Lederle Laboratories	569 F. Supp. 234	21
1985	Havens Steel Co. v. Randolph Engineering Co.	613 F. Supp. 514	18
1982	Grand Motors, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co.	564 F. Supp. 34	17
1987	White Industries, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co.	657 F. Supp. 687	16
1983	Force Ex Rel. Force v. Pierce City R-VI School District	570 F. Supp. 1020	16
1985	Circo v. Spanish Gardens Food Manufacturing Co.	643 F. Supp. 51	12
1984	Davis v. Line Construction Benefit Fund	589 F. Supp. 146	11
1984	Hailey v. Yellow Freight System, Inc.	599 F. Supp. 1332	9

Showing the 15 most-cited of 22 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 Ross Thompson Roberts?: President Ronald Reagan appointed Ross Thompson Roberts to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 1982.
Was Ross Thompson Roberts appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Ross Thompson Roberts was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Ross Thompson Roberts's confirmation vote?: Ross Thompson Roberts was confirmed by voice vote on August 20, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Ross Thompson Roberts on?: Ross Thompson Roberts was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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4 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).