William Carey Mathes
Appointed by President Harry S Truman in 1945 and confirmed by voice vote, William Carey Mathes was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1924. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1899–1967
- Appointed by
- Harry S Truman, 1945
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Texas 1921 · Harvard Law School 1924
- Succeeded
- Ralph E. Jenney
- Succeeded by
- Irving Hill
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Southern District of California succeeded Ralph E. Jenney | 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 Texas | B.M.A. | 1921 |
| Harvard Law School | LL.B. | 1924 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Mathes authored 75 published opinions for the court (1946–1962). Most cited: Wills v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. (85 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Wills v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. | 200 F. Supp. 360 | 85 |
| 1958 | United States v. Rogers & Rogers | 161 F. Supp. 132 | 66 |
| 1959 | Hugev v. Dampskisaktieselskabet International | 170 F. Supp. 601 | 61 |
| 1947 | Bell v. Hood | 71 F. Supp. 813 | 51 |
| 1956 | Ramirez & Feraud Chili Co. v. Las Palmas Food Company | 146 F. Supp. 594 | 49 |
| 1954 | Smale & Robinson, Inc. v. United States | 123 F. Supp. 457 | 49 |
| 1955 | Vitco v. Joncich | 130 F. Supp. 945 | 38 |
| 1959 | United States v. Rangel-Perez | 179 F. Supp. 619 | 35 |
| 1952 | United States v. Schneiderman | 106 F. Supp. 906 | 31 |
| 1952 | United States v. Schneiderman | 106 F. Supp. 731 | 28 |
| 1960 | Flaherty v. McDonald | 183 F. Supp. 300 | 27 |
| 1947 | The S. S. Samovar | 72 F. Supp. 574 | 27 |
| 1951 | In Re Nathan | 98 F. Supp. 686 | 23 |
| 1951 | United States v. Schneiderman | 102 F. Supp. 52 | 22 |
| 1954 | Jeffries v. Olesen | 121 F. Supp. 463 | 21 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 75 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 Carey Mathes?
- President Harry S Truman appointed William Carey Mathes to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in 1945.
- Was William Carey Mathes appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Carey Mathes 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 Carey Mathes's confirmation vote?
- William Carey Mathes was confirmed by voice vote on October 11, 1945. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Carey Mathes on?
- William Carey Mathes was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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21 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).