Samuel Estill Whitaker
Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and confirmed by voice vote, Samuel Estill Whitaker was a Judge on the Court of Claims. He earned a law degree from University of Chattanooga (now University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) in 1909. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1886–1967
- Appointed by
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Chattanooga (now of Tennessee at Chattanooga) 1909
- Succeeded
- Richard Smith Whaley
- Succeeded by
- Linton McGee Collins
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Court of Claims succeeded Richard Smith Whaley | F.D. Roosevelt (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
| University of Chattanooga (now University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) | LL.B. | 1909 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Whitaker authored 26 published opinions for the court (1953–1960). Most cited: Towanda Textiles, Inc. v. United States (51 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Towanda Textiles, Inc. v. United States | 180 F. Supp. 373 | 51 |
| 1959 | Edgar v. United States | 171 F. Supp. 243 | 36 |
| 1959 | Heyer Products Company v. United States | 177 F. Supp. 251 | 35 |
| 1958 | Highland Park, Inc. v. United States | 161 F. Supp. 597 | 28 |
| 1959 | Bateson-Stolte, Inc. v. United States | 172 F. Supp. 454 | 26 |
| 1958 | Maffia v. United States | 163 F. Supp. 859 | 26 |
| 1953 | Pittman v. United States | 116 F. Supp. 576 | 20 |
| 1959 | Wagner Iron Works v. United States | 174 F. Supp. 956 | 18 |
| 1958 | Badowski v. United States | 164 F. Supp. 252 | 15 |
| 1958 | Beatty v. United States | 168 F. Supp. 204 | 14 |
| 1960 | Cutler v. United States | 180 F. Supp. 360 | 13 |
| 1959 | Colonial Surety Company v. United States | 178 F. Supp. 600 | 13 |
| 1959 | Dick v. United States | 169 F. Supp. 491 | 13 |
| 1957 | Continental Casualty Company v. United States | 156 F. Supp. 942 | 11 |
| 1958 | Ware Knitters, Inc. v. United States | 168 F. Supp. 208 | 10 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 26 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 Samuel Estill Whitaker?
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Samuel Estill Whitaker to the Court of Claims in 1939.
- Was Samuel Estill Whitaker appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Samuel Estill Whitaker was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Samuel Estill Whitaker's confirmation vote?
- Samuel Estill Whitaker was confirmed by voice vote on July 11, 1939. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Samuel Estill Whitaker on?
- Samuel Estill Whitaker was a Judge on the Court of Claims.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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27 years on the Court of Claims. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).