Wallace Samuel Gourley
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1945 and confirmed by voice vote, Wallace Samuel Gourley was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from Ohio State University College of Law (now Michael E. Moritz College of Law) in 1929. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1904–1976
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1945
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Ohio State College of Law (now Michael E. Moritz College of Law) 1929
- Succeeded
- Frederic Palen Schoonmaker
- Succeeded by
- Hubert Irving Teitelbaum
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Western District of Pennsylvania succeeded Frederic Palen Schoonmaker | 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, Gourley authored 172 published opinions for the court (1946–1976). Most cited: Ginsburg v. Stern (54 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Ginsburg v. Stern | 125 F. Supp. 596 | 54 |
| 1949 | Shipley v. Pittsburgh & L. E. R. Co. | 83 F. Supp. 722 | 44 |
| 1949 | Frabutt v. New York, Chicago & St. Louis R. Co | 84 F. Supp. 460 | 36 |
| 1950 | California Fruit Exchange v. Henry | 89 F. Supp. 580 | 34 |
| 1951 | Lámar v. Granger | 99 F. Supp. 17 | 33 |
| 1966 | DeCarlo v. Joseph Horne and Company | 251 F. Supp. 935 | 30 |
| 1957 | Tribune Review Publishing Company v. Thomas | 153 F. Supp. 486 | 29 |
| 1947 | Olearchick v. American Steel Foundries | 73 F. Supp. 273 | 29 |
| 1972 | Wood v. Mt. Lebanon Township School District | 342 F. Supp. 1293 | 27 |
| 1947 | Shipley v. Pittsburgh & L. E. R. Co. | 70 F. Supp. 870 | 27 |
| 1948 | Steinberg v. American Bantam Car Co. | 76 F. Supp. 426 | 26 |
| 1948 | Gamlen Chemical Co. v. Gamlen | 79 F. Supp. 622 | 25 |
| 1973 | Ritacco v. Norwin School District | 361 F. Supp. 930 | 24 |
| 1955 | Elizabeth v. Conemaugh Black Lick Railroad | 133 F. Supp. 533 | 23 |
| 1948 | Burke v. Mesta MacH. Co. | 79 F. Supp. 588 | 23 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 172 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 Wallace Samuel Gourley?
- President Harry S Truman appointed Wallace Samuel Gourley to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1945.
- Was Wallace Samuel Gourley appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Wallace Samuel Gourley was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Wallace Samuel Gourley's confirmation vote?
- Wallace Samuel Gourley was confirmed by voice vote on November 20, 1945. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Wallace Samuel Gourley on?
- Wallace Samuel Gourley was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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30 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).