Timothy Spafard Hillman
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 88–1, Timothy Spafard Hillman was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He earned a law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1973. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1948 · age 78
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2012
- Confirmed
- 88–1
- Education
- Coe College 1970 · Suffolk Law School 1973
- Succeeded
- Nancy Gertner
- Succeeded by
- Margaret Rose Guzman
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | District of Massachusetts succeeded Nancy Gertner | Obama (D) | 88–1 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 88–1 on June 4, 2012 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 114. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 88
48 D, 38 R, 2 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Scott Brown(R-MA)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 1
1 R
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
Did not vote · 11
3 D, 8 R
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
Education
| Coe College | B.A. | 1970 |
| Suffolk University Law School | J.D. | 1973 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Hillman was assigned 1,612 district-court cases (1989–2023). Median time from filing to termination: 273 days across 1,608 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 162 of Hillman’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 130 were affirmed, 22 reversed or vacated, and 10 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, Hillman authored 1 published opinion for the court (2008). Most cited: United States v. Lemieux (2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | United States v. Lemieux | 532 F. Supp. 2d 225 | 2 |
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 Timothy Spafard Hillman?
- President Barack Obama appointed Timothy Spafard Hillman to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in 2012.
- Was Timothy Spafard Hillman appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Timothy Spafard Hillman was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Timothy Spafard Hillman's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Timothy Spafard Hillman 88–1 on June 4, 2012.
- Which court was Timothy Spafard Hillman on?
- Timothy Spafard Hillman was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2012)
- 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.
12 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).