Samuel Grayson Wilson
Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and confirmed by voice vote, Samuel Grayson Wilson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He earned a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1974. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1949 · age 77
- Appointed by
- George H.W. Bush, 1990
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Richmond 1971 · Wake Forest Law 1974
- Succeeded
- Glen Morgan Williams
- Succeeded by
- Elizabeth Kay Dillon
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Western District of Virginia succeeded Glen Morgan Williams | G.H.W. Bush (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
| University of Richmond | B.A. | 1971 |
| Wake Forest University School of Law | J.D. | 1974 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Wilson was assigned 5,787 district-court cases (1984–2014). Median time from filing to termination: 161 days across 5,787 closed cases.
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.
On appeal
Of 217 of Wilson’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 190 were affirmed, 18 reversed or vacated, and 9 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Wilson authored 112 published opinions for the court (1990–2011). Most cited: Stanley v. Sherwin-Williams Co. (36 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Stanley v. Sherwin-Williams Co. | 156 B.R. 25 | 36 |
| 2008 | Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. v. Rodriguez | 551 F. Supp. 2d 460 | 25 |
| 2003 | Walton v. Johnson | 269 F. Supp. 2d 692 | 23 |
| 1996 | United States v. DesAnges | 921 F. Supp. 349 | 18 |
| 2001 | Camacho v. Holiday Homes, Inc. | 167 F. Supp. 2d 892 | 17 |
| 1998 | HCMF Corp. v. Gilmore | 26 F. Supp. 2d 873 | 17 |
| 2000 | Kapinos v. Graduate Loan Center (In Re Kapinos) | 243 B.R. 271 | 16 |
| 1994 | Bryant v. Smith | 165 B.R. 176 | 16 |
| 2010 | Odyssey Imaging, LLC v. Cardiology Associates of Johnston, LLC | 752 F. Supp. 2d 721 | 15 |
| 1991 | Fleming v. Yamaha Motor Corp. | 774 F. Supp. 992 | 15 |
| 2011 | Domonoske v. Bank of America, N.A. | 790 F. Supp. 2d 466 | 12 |
| 2002 | In Re Trex Co., Inc. Securities Litigation | 212 F. Supp. 2d 596 | 11 |
| 1997 | Krichbaum v. United States Forest Service | 973 F. Supp. 585 | 11 |
| 1994 | Bryant v. Smith (In Re Bryant) | 175 B.R. 9 | 11 |
| 1995 | Virginia Society for Human Life, Inc. v. Caldwell | 906 F. Supp. 1071 | 10 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 112 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 Grayson Wilson?
- President George H.W. Bush appointed Samuel Grayson Wilson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in 1990.
- Was Samuel Grayson Wilson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Samuel Grayson Wilson was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Samuel Grayson Wilson's confirmation vote?
- Samuel Grayson Wilson was confirmed by voice vote on May 11, 1990. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Samuel Grayson Wilson on?
- Samuel Grayson Wilson was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
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
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
24 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).