William Horsley Orrick III
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed by the Senate 56–41, William Horsley Orrick III is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He earned a law degree from Boston College Law School in 1979. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1953 · age 73
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2013
- Confirmed
- 56–41
- Education
- Yale 1976 · Boston College Law School 1979
- Succeeded
- Charles R. Breyer
- Succeeded by
- Eumi Kim Lee
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Northern District of California succeeded Charles R. Breyer | Obama (D) | 56–41 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 56–41 on May 15, 2013 · 113th Congress, Roll Call 125. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 56
51 D, 3 R, 2 I
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- William "Mo" Cowan(D-MA)
- Joe Donnelly(D-IN)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Jeff Flake(R-AZ)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Heidi Heitkamp(D-ND)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Bernie Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 41
41 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Timothy Scott(R-SC)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
Did not vote · 3
2 D, 1 R
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
Education
| Yale University | B.A. | 1976 |
| Boston College Law School | J.D. | 1979 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Orrick was assigned 9,628 district-court cases (2008–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 629 days across 9,237 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 195 of Orrick’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 135 were affirmed, 31 reversed or vacated, and 29 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.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed William Horsley Orrick III?
- President Barack Obama appointed William Horsley Orrick III to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2013.
- Was William Horsley Orrick III appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Horsley Orrick III was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Horsley Orrick III's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed William Horsley Orrick III 56–41 on May 15, 2013.
- Which court is William Horsley Orrick III on?
- William Horsley Orrick III is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2013)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
13 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).