Spencer Mortimer Williams
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971 and confirmed by voice vote, Spencer Mortimer Williams was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He earned a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence in 1948. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1922–2008
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1971
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of California, Los Angeles 1943 · University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence 1948
- Succeeded by
- Vaughn R. Walker
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Northern District of California | Nixon (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 California, Los Angeles | A.B. | 1943 |
| University of California, Berkeley, School of Jurisprudence | LL.B. | 1948 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Williams was assigned 1,074 district-court cases (1974–2000). Median time from filing to termination: 332 days across 1,074 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.
In our data, Williams authored 133 published opinions for the court (1972–2000). Most cited: Van Vranken v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (141 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Van Vranken v. Atlantic Richfield Co. | 901 F. Supp. 294 | 141 |
| 1991 | Colaprico v. Sun Microsystems, Inc. | 758 F. Supp. 1335 | 118 |
| 1995 | Lockheed Missile & Space Co. v. Hughes Aircraft Co. | 887 F. Supp. 1320 | 93 |
| 1994 | In Re Syntex Corp. Securities Litigation | 855 F. Supp. 1086 | 60 |
| 1993 | Burnette v. Godshall | 828 F. Supp. 1439 | 57 |
| 1983 | Adolph Coors Co. v. Wallace | 570 F. Supp. 202 | 55 |
| 1972 | Oller v. Bank of America | 342 F. Supp. 21 | 51 |
| 1981 | Lebus v. Harris | 526 F. Supp. 56 | 38 |
| 1993 | In Re Caere Corporate Securities Litigation | 837 F. Supp. 1054 | 37 |
| 1978 | Baer v. Baer | 450 F. Supp. 481 | 33 |
| 1972 | United States v. Allen | 349 F. Supp. 749 | 32 |
| 1995 | Stack v. Lobo | 903 F. Supp. 1361 | 31 |
| 1983 | Dakis on Behalf of Dakis Pension Plan v. Chapman | 574 F. Supp. 757 | 27 |
| 1975 | Voyles v. Ralph K. Davies Medical Center | 403 F. Supp. 456 | 27 |
| 1978 | In Re Gap Stores Securities Litigation | 457 F. Supp. 1135 | 26 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 133 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 Spencer Mortimer Williams?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed Spencer Mortimer Williams to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1971.
- Was Spencer Mortimer Williams appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Spencer Mortimer Williams was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Spencer Mortimer Williams's confirmation vote?
- Spencer Mortimer Williams was confirmed by voice vote on July 29, 1971. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Spencer Mortimer Williams on?
- Spencer Mortimer Williams was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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.
36 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).