Thomas Joseph Meskill
Appointed by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and confirmed by the Senate 54–36, Thomas Joseph Meskill was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Connecticut School of Law in 1956. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1928–2007
- Appointed by
- Gerald Ford, 1975
- Confirmed
- 54–36
- Chief judge
- Second Circuit, 1992 to 1993
- Education
- Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut 1950 · University of Connecticut Law 1956
- Succeeded
- John Joseph Smith
- Succeeded by
- Guido Calabresi
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Second Circuit succeeded John Joseph Smith chief judge 1992 to 1993 | Ford (R) | 54–36 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
The Senate’s published per-senator roll-call records begin in 1989, so no senator-by-senator breakdown is available for this vote.
Education
| New York University School of Law | ||
| Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut | B.S. | 1950 |
| University of Connecticut School of Law | J.D. | 1956 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| U.S. Air Force first lieutenant | 1950-1953 |
| Private practice, New Britain, Connecticut | 1956-1960 |
| Assistant corporation counsel, New Britain, Connecticut | 1960-1962 |
| Mayor, New Britain, Connecticut | 1962-1964 |
| Corporation counsel, New Britain, Connecticut | 1965-1966 |
| U.S. representative from Connecticut | 1967-1971 |
| Governor, Connecticut | 1971-1975 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 1992-1993 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Meskill authored 1 published opinion for the court (2008). Most cited: Ogunwomoju v. United States (51 citations).
Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Selected opinions
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Ogunwomoju v. United States | 512 F.3d 69 | 51 |
Showing the 1 most-cited of 1 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 Joseph Meskill?
- President Gerald Ford appointed Thomas Joseph Meskill to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1975.
- Was Thomas Joseph Meskill appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Thomas Joseph Meskill was appointed by President Gerald Ford, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Thomas Joseph Meskill's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Thomas Joseph Meskill 54–36 on April 22, 1975.
- Which court was Thomas Joseph Meskill on?
- Thomas Joseph Meskill was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Collection of U.S. House of Representatives (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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32 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).