Thomas Rutherford Brett
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and confirmed by voice vote, Thomas Rutherford Brett was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He earned a law degree from University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1957. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1931–2021
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1979
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Oklahoma 1952 · University of Oklahoma College of Law 1957
- Succeeded by
- Claire Eagan
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Northern District of Oklahoma | Carter (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 Oklahoma | B.B.A. | 1952 |
| University of Oklahoma College of Law | LL.B. | 1957 |
| University of Oklahoma College of Law | J.D. | 1971 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Brett was assigned 2,645 district-court cases (1985–2002). Median time from filing to termination: 247 days across 2,645 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, Brett authored 35 published opinions for the court (1979–2001). Most cited: Mayberry v. Akron Rubber MacHinery Corp. (31 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Mayberry v. Akron Rubber MacHinery Corp. | 483 F. Supp. 407 | 31 |
| 1987 | Sand Springs Home v. Interplastic Corp. | 670 F. Supp. 913 | 21 |
| 1980 | Aldeman v. General Motors Acceptance Corp. (In Re Tulsa Port Warehouse Co.) | 4 B.R. 801 | 20 |
| 1980 | Phillips MacHinery Co. v. LeBlond, Inc. | 494 F. Supp. 318 | 18 |
| 1996 | Prudential Securities, Inc. v. Dalton | 929 F. Supp. 1411 | 16 |
| 1983 | In Re Ancor Exploration Co. | 30 B.R. 802 | 16 |
| 1982 | Sixth Geostratic Energy Drilling Program 1980 v. ANCOR EXPLORATION COMPANY | 544 F. Supp. 297 | 12 |
| 1986 | In Re Heston Oil Co. | 69 B.R. 34 | 11 |
| 1998 | Mitchell Coach Manufacturing Co. v. Stephens | 19 F. Supp. 2d 1227 | 8 |
| 1993 | Atlantic Richfield Co. v. American Airlines, Inc. | 836 F. Supp. 763 | 8 |
| 1984 | Westland Energy 1981-1 Ltd. v. Bank of Commerce & Trust Co. | 603 F. Supp. 698 | 8 |
| 1984 | Bigheart Pipeline Corp. v. United States | 600 F. Supp. 50 | 8 |
| 1988 | Pearson v. Niagara MacHine & Tool Works | 701 F. Supp. 195 | 5 |
| 1986 | Bank of Commerce & Trust Co. v. National Union Fire Insurance | 651 F. Supp. 474 | 5 |
| 1984 | United States v. Young | 604 F. Supp. 164 | 5 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 35 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 Thomas Rutherford Brett?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Thomas Rutherford Brett to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma in 1979.
- Was Thomas Rutherford Brett appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Thomas Rutherford Brett was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Thomas Rutherford Brett's confirmation vote?
- Thomas Rutherford Brett was confirmed by voice vote on October 31, 1979. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Thomas Rutherford Brett on?
- Thomas Rutherford Brett was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (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.
23 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).