Susan Ritchie Bolton
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 2000 and confirmed by voice vote, Susan Ritchie Bolton is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. She earned a law degree from University of Iowa College of Law in 1975. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1951 · age 75
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 2000
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Iowa 1973 · University of Iowa College of Law 1975
- Succeeded
- Robert Cameron Broomfield
- Succeeded by
- Dominic William Lanza
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | District of Arizona succeeded Robert Cameron Broomfield | Clinton (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 Iowa | B.A. | 1973 |
| University of Iowa College of Law | J.D. | 1975 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Bolton was assigned 5,656 district-court cases (1982–2025). Median time from filing to termination: 175 days across 5,601 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 409 of Bolton’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 319 were affirmed, 54 reversed or vacated, and 36 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, Bolton authored 13 published opinions for the court (2001–2010). Most cited: United States v. Arizona (22 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | United States v. Arizona | 703 F. Supp. 2d 980 | 22 |
| 2008 | Arizona Cattle Growers' Ass'n v. Kempthorne | 534 F. Supp. 2d 1013 | 10 |
| 2006 | In Re White Electronic Designs Corp. Securities Litigation | 416 F. Supp. 2d 754 | 8 |
| 2007 | Evans v. Singer | 518 F. Supp. 2d 1134 | 7 |
| 2005 | Kobar Ex Rel Kobar v. Novartis Corp. | 378 F. Supp. 2d 1166 | 6 |
| 2004 | National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburg v. ESI Ergonomic Solutions, LLC | 342 F. Supp. 2d 853 | 5 |
| 2006 | Jones v. Schriro | 450 F. Supp. 2d 1047 | 3 |
| 2006 | Jones v. Schriro | 450 F. Supp. 2d 1023 | 3 |
| 2004 | Amerco v. NLRB | 330 F. Supp. 2d 1083 | 3 |
| 2005 | Trantina v. United States | 381 F. Supp. 2d 1100 | 2 |
| 2006 | Klein v. Rumsfeld | 507 F. Supp. 2d 1045 | 1 |
| 2001 | Broulette v. Starns | 161 F. Supp. 2d 1021 | 1 |
| 2001 | Baker v. San Carlos Irrigation Project | 176 F. Supp. 2d 970 | 0 |
Showing the 13 most-cited of 13 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 Susan Ritchie Bolton?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Susan Ritchie Bolton to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in 2000.
- Was Susan Ritchie Bolton appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Susan Ritchie Bolton was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Susan Ritchie Bolton's confirmation vote?
- Susan Ritchie Bolton was confirmed by voice vote on October 3, 2000. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Susan Ritchie Bolton on?
- Susan Ritchie Bolton is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- 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.
25 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).