Thomas B. Russell
Appointed by President William J. Clinton in 1994 and confirmed by voice vote, Thomas B. Russell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. He earned a law degree from University of Kentucky College of Law in 1970. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1945 · age 81
- Appointed by
- William J. Clinton, 1994
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Western Kentucky 1967 · University of Kentucky College of Law 1970
- Succeeded
- Edward Huggins Johnstone
- Succeeded by
- Gregory N. Stivers
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Western District of Kentucky succeeded Edward Huggins Johnstone | 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
| Western Kentucky University | B.A. | 1967 |
| University of Kentucky College of Law | J.D. | 1970 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Russell was assigned 8,075 district-court cases (1973–2022). Median time from filing to termination: 305 days across 8,075 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 498 of Russell’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 418 were affirmed, 46 reversed or vacated, and 34 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, Russell authored 66 published opinions for the court (1995–2011). Most cited: Butts v. City of Bowling Green (29 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Butts v. City of Bowling Green | 374 F. Supp. 2d 532 | 29 |
| 2000 | Thacker v. United Companies Lending Corp. | 256 B.R. 724 | 20 |
| 2010 | Secura Insurance v. Gray Construction, Inc. | 717 F. Supp. 2d 710 | 19 |
| 2006 | General Elec. Co. v. Anson Stamping Co. Inc. | 426 F. Supp. 2d 579 | 16 |
| 1995 | Phipps v. Parker | 879 F. Supp. 734 | 15 |
| 2000 | Hardy v. Ajax Magnathermic Corp. | 122 F. Supp. 2d 757 | 14 |
| 2010 | Kopacz v. Hopkinsville Surface & Storm Water Utility | 714 F. Supp. 2d 682 | 13 |
| 2007 | Westlake Vinyls, Inc. v. Goodrich Corp. | 518 F. Supp. 2d 902 | 12 |
| 2007 | Westlake Vinyls, Inc. v. Goodrich Corp. | 518 F. Supp. 2d 918 | 11 |
| 2005 | Draper v. Logan County Public Library | 403 F. Supp. 2d 608 | 11 |
| 1995 | Kentucky, Ex Rel. Gorman v. Comcast Cable of Paducah, Inc. | 881 F. Supp. 285 | 10 |
| 2011 | Dunn v. Gordon Food Services, Inc. | 780 F. Supp. 2d 570 | 9 |
| 2006 | Dennison v. Murray State University | 465 F. Supp. 2d 733 | 9 |
| 2005 | Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. v. Skeeters | 395 F. Supp. 2d 541 | 9 |
| 2009 | Modrell v. Hayden | 636 F. Supp. 2d 545 | 8 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 66 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 B. Russell?
- President William J. Clinton appointed Thomas B. Russell to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in 1994.
- Was Thomas B. Russell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Thomas B. Russell was appointed by President William J. Clinton, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Thomas B. Russell's confirmation vote?
- Thomas B. Russell was confirmed by voice vote on October 7, 1994. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Thomas B. Russell on?
- Thomas B. Russell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Unknown author (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.
28 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).