Timothy James Kelly
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2017 and confirmed by the Senate 94–2, Timothy James Kelly is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1997. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1969 · age 57
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2017
- Confirmed
- 94–2
- Education
- Duke 1991 · Georgetown Law Center 1997
- Succeeded
- Rosemary M. Collyer
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | District of Columbia succeeded Rosemary M. Collyer | Trump (R) | 94–2 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 94–2 on September 5, 2017 · 115th Congress, Roll Call 188. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 94
42 D, 50 R, 2 I
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Luther Strange(R-AL)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Voted against · 2
2 D
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
Did not vote · 4
2 D, 2 R
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
Education
| Duke University | B.A. | 1991 |
| Georgetown University Law Center | J.D. | 1997 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Kelly was assigned 1,618 district-court cases (2000–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 221 days across 1,061 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 112 of Kelly’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 84 were affirmed, 23 reversed or vacated, and 5 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, Kelly authored 457 published opinions for the court (2019–2026).
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
Showing the 15 most-cited of 457 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 James Kelly?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Timothy James Kelly to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2017.
- Was Timothy James Kelly appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Timothy James Kelly was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Timothy James Kelly's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Timothy James Kelly 94–2 on September 5, 2017.
- Which court is Timothy James Kelly on?
- Timothy James Kelly is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2017)
- 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.
8 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).