William Alexander Cant
Appointed by President Warren G. Harding in 1924 and confirmed by voice vote, William Alexander Cant was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. He earned a law degree from University of Michigan Law School in 1885. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1863–1933
- Appointed by
- Warren G. Harding, 1924
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Michigan Law School 1885
- Succeeded
- Page Morris
- Succeeded by
- Robert Cook Bell
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | District of Minnesota succeeded Page Morris | Harding (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 Michigan Law School | LL.B. | 1885 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Cant authored 7 published opinions for the court (1924–1932). Most cited: Backus v. Finkelstein (65 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Backus v. Finkelstein | 23 F.2d 357 | 65 |
| 1928 | Governor & Co. of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson's Bay v. Hudson Bay Fur Co. | 33 F.2d 801 | 14 |
| 1924 | Sweet v. Lang | 14 F.2d 758 | 7 |
| 1929 | Ringeon v. Albinson | 35 F.2d 753 | 4 |
| 1926 | In Re Anderson | 11 F.2d 380 | 4 |
| 1926 | Matteson Co. v. Willcuts | 12 F.2d 447 | 4 |
| 1932 | Anneke v. Willcuts | 1 F. Supp. 662 | 2 |
Showing the 7 most-cited of 7 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 Alexander Cant?
- President Warren G. Harding appointed William Alexander Cant to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 1924.
- Was William Alexander Cant appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Alexander Cant was appointed by President Warren G. Harding, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Alexander Cant's confirmation vote?
- William Alexander Cant was confirmed by voice vote on January 15, 1924. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Alexander Cant on?
- William Alexander Cant was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: in Men of Minnesota (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.
8 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).