William Lee Knous
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1950 and confirmed by voice vote, William Lee Knous was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. He earned a law degree from University of Colorado Law School in 1911. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1889–1959
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1950
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Colorado Law School 1911
- Succeeded
- John Foster Symes
- Succeeded by
- Olin Hatfield Chilson
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | District of Colorado succeeded John Foster Symes | 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
| University of Colorado Law School | LL.B. | 1911 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Knous authored 23 published opinions for the court (1950–1959). Most cited: McGregor v. McGregor (25 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | McGregor v. McGregor | 101 F. Supp. 848 | 25 |
| 1952 | Wolf Sales Co. v. Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. | 105 F. Supp. 506 | 24 |
| 1956 | Colorado Ex Rel. Land Acquisition Commission v. American MacHine & Foundry Co. | 143 F. Supp. 703 | 13 |
| 1953 | E. K. Carey Drilling Co. v. Murphy | 113 F. Supp. 226 | 12 |
| 1951 | Herring v. United States | 98 F. Supp. 69 | 12 |
| 1956 | Crusen v. United Air Lines, Inc. | 141 F. Supp. 347 | 11 |
| 1954 | People of State of Colorado v. Maxwell | 125 F. Supp. 18 | 11 |
| 1954 | Ward v. Denver & R. G. W. R. Co. | 119 F. Supp. 112 | 11 |
| 1958 | United States v. Pezzati | 160 F. Supp. 787 | 8 |
| 1957 | Smith v. United States | 158 F. Supp. 344 | 8 |
| 1958 | Haas v. De Laney | 165 F. Supp. 488 | 7 |
| 1956 | D. A. C. Uranium Co. v. Benton | 149 F. Supp. 667 | 7 |
| 1954 | Ward Transport, Inc. v. United States | 125 F. Supp. 363 | 7 |
| 1951 | United States v. Harms | 96 F. Supp. 1022 | 7 |
| 1950 | United States v. One Chevrolet Stylemaster Sedan | 91 F. Supp. 272 | 7 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 23 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 Lee Knous?
- President Harry S Truman appointed William Lee Knous to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 1950.
- Was William Lee Knous appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Lee Knous was appointed by President Harry S Truman, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Lee Knous's confirmation vote?
- William Lee Knous was confirmed by voice vote on April 4, 1950. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Lee Knous on?
- William Lee Knous was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States Government (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.
9 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).