Who appointed Roy Mahlon Shelbourne?

President Harry S Truman appointed Roy Mahlon Shelbourne to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in 1946.

Was Roy Mahlon Shelbourne appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Roy Mahlon Shelbourne was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Roy Mahlon Shelbourne's confirmation vote?

Roy Mahlon Shelbourne was confirmed by voice vote on February 5, 1946. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Western District of Kentucky / Appointed 1946 / Served to 1974

Roy Mahlon Shelbourne

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

Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1946 and confirmed by voice vote, Roy Mahlon Shelbourne was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. He earned a law degree from Cumberland School of Law in 1913. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1890–1974
Appointed by: Harry S Truman, 1946
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: Union, Jackson, Tennessee 1912 · Cumberland Law 1913
Succeeded: Shackelford Miller Jr.
Succeeded by: James Fleming Gordon

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1946	Western District of Kentucky succeeded Shackelford Miller Jr.	Truman (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

Union University, Jackson, Tennessee	A.B.	1912
Cumberland School of Law	LL.B.	1913

Judicial Record

In our data, Shelbourne authored 43 published opinions for the court (1946–1966). Most cited: Drybrough v. United States (24 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
1962	Drybrough v. United States	208 F. Supp. 279	24
1962	Lassoff v. Gray	207 F. Supp. 843	21
1959	Reed v. United States	177 F. Supp. 205	19
1957	Travelers Insurance Co. v. Ohio Farmers Indem. Co.	157 F. Supp. 54	19
1951	Levitan v. Stout	97 F. Supp. 105	18
1962	In Re Drane	202 F. Supp. 221	17
1950	Steiden Stores, Inc. v. Glenn	94 F. Supp. 712	17
1965	Kentucky Utilities Company v. Glenn	250 F. Supp. 265	13
1948	Walnut Street Co. v. Glenn	83 F. Supp. 945	13
1950	State Auto. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sinclair	96 F. Supp. 267	12
1961	In Re Fahey	192 F. Supp. 492	11
1955	Branham v. United States	136 F. Supp. 342	11
1952	Barnes v. United States	103 F. Supp. 51	11
1951	Wise v. Ohio Casualty Ins. Co.	96 F. Supp. 380	11
1947	McIntyre v. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Co.	72 F. Supp. 366	11

Showing the 15 most-cited of 43 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 Roy Mahlon Shelbourne?: President Harry S Truman appointed Roy Mahlon Shelbourne to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in 1946.
Was Roy Mahlon Shelbourne appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Roy Mahlon Shelbourne was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Roy Mahlon Shelbourne's confirmation vote?: Roy Mahlon Shelbourne was confirmed by voice vote on February 5, 1946. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Roy Mahlon Shelbourne on?: Roy Mahlon Shelbourne was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.

Sources

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

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