Susan Richard Nelson
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed by voice vote, Susan Richard Nelson is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. She earned a law degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1978. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1952 · age 74
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2010
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Oberlin College 1974 · University of Pittsburgh Law 1978
- Succeeded
- James Michael Rosenbaum
- Succeeded by
- Jerry Wayne Blackwell
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | District of Minnesota succeeded James Michael Rosenbaum | Obama (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
| Oberlin College | B.A. | 1974 |
| University of Pittsburgh School of Law | J.D. | 1978 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Nelson was assigned 3,060 district-court cases (1994–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 183 days across 2,905 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 250 of Nelson’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 219 were affirmed, 22 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, Nelson authored 4 published opinions for the court (2011). Most cited: Safco Products Co. v. Welcom Products, Inc. (9 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Safco Products Co. v. Welcom Products, Inc. | 799 F. Supp. 2d 967 | 9 |
| 2011 | Brady v. National Football League | 779 F. Supp. 2d 1043 | 9 |
| 2011 | Brady v. National Football League | 779 F. Supp. 2d 992 | 9 |
| 2011 | Hanson v. LOPAREX, INC. | 809 F. Supp. 2d 972 | 5 |
Showing the 4 most-cited of 4 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 Richard Nelson?
- President Barack Obama appointed Susan Richard Nelson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 2010.
- Was Susan Richard Nelson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Susan Richard Nelson was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Susan Richard Nelson's confirmation vote?
- Susan Richard Nelson was confirmed by voice vote on December 17, 2010. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court is Susan Richard Nelson on?
- Susan Richard Nelson is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (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.
15 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).