W. Wallace Kent
Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970 and confirmed by voice vote, W. Wallace Kent was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of Michigan Law School in 1940. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1916–1973
- Appointed by
- Richard M. Nixon, 1970
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Western State Teachers College (now Western Michigan) 1937 · University of Michigan Law School 1940
- Succeeded
- Bertram Thomas Combs
- Succeeded by
- Albert Joseph Engel
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Western District of Michigan | Eisenhower (R) | Voice vote |
| 1970 | Sixth Circuit succeeded Bertram Thomas Combs | Nixon (R) | 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 State Teachers College (now Western Michigan University) | B.A. | 1937 |
| University of Michigan Law School | J.D. | 1940 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Kent authored 11 published opinions for the court (1955–1969). Most cited: Upjohn Company v. Finch (25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Upjohn Company v. Finch | 303 F. Supp. 241 | 25 |
| 1957 | Schreiber v. Loew's Incorporated | 147 F. Supp. 319 | 15 |
| 1955 | Kenney v. Hatfield | 132 F. Supp. 814 | 15 |
| 1958 | Horsey v. Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. | 162 F. Supp. 649 | 13 |
| 1955 | Grand Rapids City Coach Lines, Inc. v. Howlett | 137 F. Supp. 667 | 11 |
| 1964 | Boyd v. Wrisley | 228 F. Supp. 9 | 9 |
| 1967 | NAPH-SOL REFINING COMPANY v. United States | 269 F. Supp. 530 | 7 |
| 1958 | Dairy, Bakery & Food Workers Local Union No. 386 v. Grand Rapids Milk Division of National Dairy Products Corp. | 160 F. Supp. 34 | 7 |
| 1968 | Local Union No. 328 v. Armour and Company | 294 F. Supp. 168 | 6 |
| 1955 | In Re Wilcox-Gay Corporation | 133 F. Supp. 548 | 4 |
| 1958 | White Pine Copper Co. v. Continental Insurance Co. | 166 F. Supp. 148 | 3 |
Showing the 11 most-cited of 11 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 W. Wallace Kent?
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed W. Wallace Kent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1970.
- Was W. Wallace Kent appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- W. Wallace Kent was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was W. Wallace Kent's confirmation vote?
- W. Wallace Kent was confirmed by voice vote on December 16, 1970. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was W. Wallace Kent on?
- W. Wallace Kent was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (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.
2 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).