Thomas Patrick Thornton
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1949 and confirmed by voice vote, Thomas Patrick Thornton was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He earned a law degree from University of Detroit Law School (now University of Detroit Mercy School of Law) in 1926. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1898–1985
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1949
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Detroit Law School (now of Detroit Mercy Law) 1926
- Succeeded
- Ernest Aloysius O'Brien
- Succeeded by
- Damon Jerome Keith
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Eastern District of Michigan succeeded Ernest Aloysius O'Brien | Truman (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
Judicial Record
In our data, Thornton authored 47 published opinions for the court (1951–1985). Most cited: Raybould v. Mancini-Fattore Company (20 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Raybould v. Mancini-Fattore Company | 186 F. Supp. 235 | 20 |
| 1979 | Foreman v. General Motors Corp. | 473 F. Supp. 166 | 18 |
| 1969 | Vought v. Van Buren Public Schools | 306 F. Supp. 1388 | 15 |
| 1952 | Buckner v. Foster | 105 F. Supp. 279 | 13 |
| 1952 | Murphy v. Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders International Union | 102 F. Supp. 488 | 12 |
| 1981 | Klanseck v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America | 509 F. Supp. 13 | 11 |
| 1967 | Aguirre v. Nagel | 270 F. Supp. 535 | 11 |
| 1971 | JAMES T. BARNES & COMPANY v. Romney | 334 F. Supp. 657 | 10 |
| 1957 | United States v. Burdette | 161 F. Supp. 326 | 10 |
| 1983 | Platt v. McDonnell Douglas Corp. | 554 F. Supp. 360 | 9 |
| 1956 | Williams v. Butterfield | 145 F. Supp. 567 | 9 |
| 1952 | Fletcher v. Veterans Administration | 103 F. Supp. 654 | 9 |
| 1973 | Hogan v. United States | 367 F. Supp. 1022 | 8 |
| 1963 | Schueler v. Phoenix Assurance Company of New York | 223 F. Supp. 643 | 8 |
| 1952 | Knox v. Great West Life Assur. Co. | 109 F. Supp. 207 | 8 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 47 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 Patrick Thornton?
- President Harry S Truman appointed Thomas Patrick Thornton to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1949.
- Was Thomas Patrick Thornton appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Thomas Patrick Thornton was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Thomas Patrick Thornton's confirmation vote?
- Thomas Patrick Thornton was confirmed by voice vote on January 31, 1949. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Thomas Patrick Thornton on?
- Thomas Patrick Thornton was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: GarlandFamily (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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36 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).