Scott Lawrence Palk
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2017 and confirmed by the Senate 79–16, Scott Lawrence Palk is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. He earned a law degree from University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1992. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1967 · age 59
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2017
- Confirmed
- 79–16
- Chief judge
- Western District of Oklahoma, 2026 to present
- Education
- Oklahoma State 1989 · University of Oklahoma College of Law 1992
- Succeeded
- Stephen P. Friot
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Western District of Oklahoma succeeded Stephen P. Friot chief judge 2026 to present | Trump (R) | 79–16 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 79–16 on October 26, 2017 · 115th Congress, Roll Call 251. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 79
27 D, 51 R, 1 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Luther Strange(R-AL)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Voted against · 16
15 D, 1 I
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 5
4 D, 1 R
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
Education
| Oklahoma State University | B.S. | 1989 |
| University of Oklahoma College of Law | J.D. | 1992 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| Assistant district attorney, Cleveland, Garvin, and McClain Counties, Oklahoma, 1992-2002; Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force coordinator, 1992-1995; first assistant district attorney | 1998-2002 |
| Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Oklahoma, 2002-2011; deputy chief, Criminal Division | 2004-2011 |
| Assistant dean for students and assistant general counsel, University of Oklahoma College of Law | 2011-2017 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Palk was assigned 1,376 district-court cases (2004–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 228 days across 941 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 62 of Palk’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 57 were affirmed, 3 reversed or vacated, and 2 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.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Scott Lawrence Palk?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Scott Lawrence Palk to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in 2017.
- Was Scott Lawrence Palk appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Scott Lawrence Palk was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Scott Lawrence Palk's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Scott Lawrence Palk 79–16 on October 26, 2017.
- Which court is Scott Lawrence Palk on?
- Scott Lawrence Palk is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2017)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
8 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).