William Docker Browning
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and confirmed by voice vote, William Docker Browning was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. He earned a law degree from University of Arizona College of Law (now James E. Rogers College of Law) in 1960. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1931–2008
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1984
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Arizona 1954 · University of Arizona College of Law (now James E. Rogers College of Law) 1960
- Succeeded
- Mary Anne Richey
- Succeeded by
- Raner Christercunean Collins
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | District of Arizona succeeded Mary Anne Richey | Reagan (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
| University of Arizona | B.A., B.S. | 1954 |
| University of Arizona College of Law (now James E. Rogers College of Law) | LL.B. | 1960 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Browning was assigned 1,429 district-court cases (1983–2005). Median time from filing to termination: 329 days across 1,429 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.
In our data, Browning authored 31 published opinions for the court (1984–2002). Most cited: In Re Washington Public Power Supply System Securities Litigation (68 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | In Re Washington Public Power Supply System Securities Litigation | 720 F. Supp. 1379 | 68 |
| 1984 | Mardan Corp. v. C.G.C. Music, Ltd. | 600 F. Supp. 1049 | 58 |
| 1991 | Smith v. Hughes Aircraft Co. Corp. | 783 F. Supp. 1222 | 25 |
| 2001 | Cloud v. Pfizer Inc. | 198 F. Supp. 2d 1118 | 15 |
| 1992 | Cota v. Tucson Police Department | 783 F. Supp. 458 | 12 |
| 1996 | Davison v. City of Tucson | 924 F. Supp. 989 | 11 |
| 1984 | Welsh v. Cunard Lines, Ltd. | 595 F. Supp. 844 | 10 |
| 2001 | Amaya-Ruiz v. Stewart | 136 F. Supp. 2d 1014 | 7 |
| 1993 | Alphagraphics Franchising, Inc. v. Whaler Graphics, Inc. | 840 F. Supp. 708 | 7 |
| 1999 | Forbes v. Woods | 71 F. Supp. 2d 1015 | 6 |
| 1997 | Overstreet v. Thomas Davis Medical Centers, PC | 9 F. Supp. 2d 1162 | 6 |
| 1997 | Elliot v. LTD Direct Marketing, Inc. | 1 F. Supp. 2d 1031 | 5 |
| 1997 | San Pablo v. Immigration & Naturalization Service | 4 F. Supp. 2d 881 | 4 |
| 1991 | Proyecto San Pablo v. Immigration & Naturalization Service | 784 F. Supp. 738 | 4 |
| 1985 | Wick v. Tucson Newspaper, Inc. | 598 F. Supp. 1155 | 4 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 31 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 William Docker Browning?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed William Docker Browning to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in 1984.
- Was William Docker Browning appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Docker Browning was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Docker Browning's confirmation vote?
- William Docker Browning was confirmed by voice vote on April 24, 1984. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Docker Browning on?
- William Docker Browning was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (The Third Branch newsletter) (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.
23 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).