Western District of Missouri / Appointed 1977 / Served to 2000

Russell Gentry Clark

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

Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and confirmed by voice vote, Russell Gentry Clark 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 1952. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived
1925–2003
Appointed by
Jimmy Carter, 1977
Confirmed
by voice vote
Education
University of Missouri Law 1952

Federal judicial service

YearCourtAppointed byVote
1977Western District of MissouriCarter (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

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Clark was assigned 3,499 district-court cases (1985–2000). Median time from filing to termination: 172 days across 3,499 closed cases.

Prisoner & habeas47%
Other federal statutes12%
Social Security11%
Contract8%
Civil rights7%
Personal-injury torts7%
Other9%

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, Clark authored 60 published opinions for the court (1977–2000). Most cited: United States v. Northeastern Pharmaceutical & Chemical Co. (134 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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

YearCaseCitationCited
1984United States v. Northeastern Pharmaceutical & Chemical Co.579 F. Supp. 823134
1986Jenkins v. State of Mo.639 F. Supp. 1959
1982Richardson v. Volkswagenwerk, A.G.552 F. Supp. 7341
1989General Electric Co. v. Litton Business Systems, Inc.715 F. Supp. 94939
1991Bauer v. Kincaid759 F. Supp. 57537
1984Jenkins v. State of Mo.593 F. Supp. 148535
1987Jenkins v. State of Mo.672 F. Supp. 40028
1980Black v. State of Mo.492 F. Supp. 84828
1979Wooldridge v. Beech Aircraft Corp.479 F. Supp. 104128
1997Jenkins v. State of Mo.959 F. Supp. 115127
1978School Dist. of Kansas City v. State of Mo.460 F. Supp. 42127
1986Kidder Skis International v. Williams60 B.R. 80823
1980Thompson v. Southwest School District483 F. Supp. 117020
1979Pearman v. Texaco, Inc.480 F. Supp. 76719
1980Barnhorst v. Missouri State High School Activities Ass'n504 F. Supp. 44918

Showing the 15 most-cited of 60 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 Russell Gentry Clark?
President Jimmy Carter appointed Russell Gentry Clark to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 1977.
Was Russell Gentry Clark appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
Russell Gentry Clark was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Russell Gentry Clark's confirmation vote?
Russell Gentry Clark was confirmed by voice vote on July 1, 1977. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Russell Gentry Clark on?
Russell Gentry Clark 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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23 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).