William Osborne Mehrtens
Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 and confirmed by voice vote, William Osborne Mehrtens was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He earned a law degree from University of Florida College of Law (now Fredric G. Levin College of Law) in 1932. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1905–1980
- Appointed by
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Florida College of Law (now Fredric G. Levin College of Law) 1932
- Succeeded
- Emett Clay Choate
- Succeeded by
- Sidney Myer Aronovitz
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Southern District of Florida succeeded Emett Clay Choate | L.B. Johnson (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
Judicial Record
In our data, Mehrtens authored 34 published opinions for the court (1965–1978). Most cited: United States v. Escandar (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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | United States v. Escandar | 319 F. Supp. 295 | 65 |
| 1972 | Gerlach v. Allstate Insurance Company | 338 F. Supp. 642 | 47 |
| 1971 | McCormick v. First National Bank of Miami | 322 F. Supp. 604 | 31 |
| 1976 | United States v. L & H Land Corp., Inc. | 407 F. Supp. 576 | 29 |
| 1972 | Penn Yan Boats, Inc. v. Sea Lark Boats, Inc. | 359 F. Supp. 948 | 25 |
| 1978 | Treasure Salvors, Inc. v. Unidentified Wrecked & Abandoned Sailing Vessel | 459 F. Supp. 507 | 24 |
| 1966 | Garza v. Midland National Insurance Company | 256 F. Supp. 12 | 20 |
| 1967 | Brinson v. State of Florida, County of Dade | 273 F. Supp. 840 | 17 |
| 1973 | Gables by the Sea, Inc. v. Lee | 365 F. Supp. 826 | 16 |
| 1973 | United States v. Robinson | 359 F. Supp. 52 | 15 |
| 1973 | Miami Health Studios, Inc. v. City of Miami Beach | 353 F. Supp. 593 | 14 |
| 1966 | United States v. Hanna | 260 F. Supp. 430 | 14 |
| 1967 | Foster v. Gilbert | 264 F. Supp. 209 | 13 |
| 1971 | United States v. Joseph G. Moretti, Inc. | 331 F. Supp. 151 | 12 |
| 1971 | Stefanski v. Mainway Budget Plan, Inc. | 326 F. Supp. 138 | 11 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 34 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 Osborne Mehrtens?
- President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed William Osborne Mehrtens to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1965.
- Was William Osborne Mehrtens appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Osborne Mehrtens was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Osborne Mehrtens's confirmation vote?
- William Osborne Mehrtens was confirmed by voice vote on August 31, 1965. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Osborne Mehrtens on?
- William Osborne Mehrtens was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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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14 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).