William Joseph Martinez
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed by the Senate 58–37, William Joseph Martinez is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. He earned a law degree from University of Chicago Law School in 1980. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1954 · age 72
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2010
- Confirmed
- 58–37
- Education
- University of Illinois 1977 · University of Chicago Law School 1980
- Succeeded
- Edward Willis Nottingham Jr.
- Succeeded by
- Gordon Paul Gallagher
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | District of Colorado succeeded Edward Willis Nottingham Jr. | Obama (D) | 58–37 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 58–37 on December 21, 2010 · 111th Congress, Roll Call 291. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 58
54 D, 2 R, 2 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Scott Brown(R-MA)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- Byron Dorgan(D-ND)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Russ Feingold(D-WI)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Blanche Lincoln(D-AR)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Arlen Specter(D-PA)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
Voted against · 37
37 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Robert Bennett(R-UT)
- Jim Bunning(R-KY)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- John Ensign(R-NV)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- George LeMieux(R-FL)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- George Voinovich(R-OH)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
Did not vote · 5
2 D, 3 R
- Evan Bayh(D-IN)
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- Samuel Brownback(R-KS)
- Judd Gregg(R-NH)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Education
| University of Illinois | B.A., B.Sc. | 1977 |
| University of Chicago Law School | J.D. | 1980 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Martinez was assigned 4,182 district-court cases (1973–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 286 days across 4,023 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.
On appeal
Of 245 of Martinez’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 205 were affirmed, 26 reversed or vacated, and 14 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Martinez authored 5 published opinions for the court (2011). Most cited: McCAMMOND v. SCHWAN'S HOME SERVICE, INC. (3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | McCAMMOND v. SCHWAN'S HOME SERVICE, INC. | 791 F. Supp. 2d 1010 | 3 |
| 2011 | Llewellyn v. Allstate Home Loans, Inc. | 795 F. Supp. 2d 1210 | 3 |
| 2011 | Strich v. United States | 793 F. Supp. 2d 1238 | 3 |
| 2011 | MORENO-GUTIERREZ v. Napolitano | 794 F. Supp. 2d 1207 | 1 |
| 2011 | Agile Safety Variable Fund, L.P. v. RBS Citizens, N.A. | 793 F. Supp. 2d 1248 | 1 |
Showing the 5 most-cited of 5 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 Joseph Martinez?
- President Barack Obama appointed William Joseph Martinez to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in 2010.
- Was William Joseph Martinez appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Joseph Martinez was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Joseph Martinez's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed William Joseph Martinez 58–37 on December 21, 2010.
- Which court is William Joseph Martinez on?
- William Joseph Martinez is 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
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2010)
- 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.
15 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).