William Ray Overton
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and confirmed by voice vote, William Ray Overton was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. He earned a law degree from University of Arkansas School of Law in 1964. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1939–1987
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1979
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Arkansas 1961 · University of Arkansas Law 1964
- Succeeded by
- Stephen M. Reasoner
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Eastern District of Arkansas | Carter (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 Arkansas | B.A., B.S. | 1961 |
| University of Arkansas School of Law | LL.B. | 1964 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Overton authored 12 published opinions for the court (1980–1986). Most cited: McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education (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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education | 529 F. Supp. 1255 | 25 |
| 1980 | United States v. Oakley | 483 F. Supp. 762 | 17 |
| 1982 | Rockefeller v. United States | 572 F. Supp. 9 | 16 |
| 1986 | Davis v. Paschall | 640 F. Supp. 198 | 12 |
| 1980 | Uncle Ben's, Inc. v. Crowell | 482 F. Supp. 1149 | 11 |
| 1981 | Back Door Records v. City of Jacksonville | 515 F. Supp. 857 | 8 |
| 1980 | Farrell v. United States | 484 F. Supp. 1097 | 8 |
| 1980 | Wild Cinemas of Little Rock, Inc. v. Bentley | 499 F. Supp. 655 | 7 |
| 1986 | Bob Ladd, Inc. v. Adcock | 633 F. Supp. 241 | 5 |
| 1982 | Collins v. Lockhart | 545 F. Supp. 83 | 5 |
| 1983 | Arkansas Day Care Ass'n, Inc. v. Clinton | 577 F. Supp. 388 | 4 |
| 1984 | Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission | 584 F. Supp. 1087 | 3 |
Showing the 12 most-cited of 12 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 Ray Overton?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed William Ray Overton to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 1979.
- Was William Ray Overton appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Ray Overton was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Ray Overton's confirmation vote?
- William Ray Overton was confirmed by voice vote on May 10, 1979. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Ray Overton on?
- William Ray Overton was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Unknown authorUnknown author (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.
8 years on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).