Who appointed William Francis Smith?

President John F. Kennedy appointed William Francis Smith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1961.

Was William Francis Smith appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

William Francis Smith was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was William Francis Smith's confirmation vote?

William Francis Smith was confirmed by voice vote on August 30, 1961. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Third Circuit / Appointed 1961 / Served to 1968

William Francis Smith

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and confirmed by voice vote, William Francis Smith was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He earned a law degree from New Jersey Law School (now Rutgers School of Law -- Newark) in 1929. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived: 1903–1968
Appointed by: John F. Kennedy, 1961
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: New Jersey Law School (now Rutgers Law -- Newark) 1929
Succeeded: Phillip Forman
Succeeded by: James Hunter III

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
1941	District of New Jersey	F.D. Roosevelt (D)	Voice vote
1961	Third Circuit succeeded Phillip Forman	Kennedy (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

Columbia University	Ph.G.	1922
New Jersey Law School (now Rutgers School of Law -- Newark)	LL.B.	1929

Judicial Record

In our data, Smith authored 53 published opinions for the court (1941–1961). Most cited: Darsyn Laboratories, Inc. v. Lenox Laboratories, Inc. (26 citations).

Published, precedential opinions from the CourtListener corpus. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.

Selected opinions

Year	Case	Citation	Cited
1954	Darsyn Laboratories, Inc. v. Lenox Laboratories, Inc.	120 F. Supp. 42	26
1957	Farbenfabriken Bayer, A.G. v. Sterling Drug, Inc.	153 F. Supp. 589	25
1958	Noel v. Airponents, Inc.	169 F. Supp. 348	21
1950	Rolle Mfg. Co. v. Marco Chemicals, Inc.	92 F. Supp. 218	18
1960	Crivello v. Board of Adjust. of Borough of Middlesex	183 F. Supp. 826	16
1953	In Re Holdsworth	113 F. Supp. 878	15
1950	Zig Zag Spring Co. v. Comfort Spring Corporation	89 F. Supp. 410	15
1951	United States v. Rosati	97 F. Supp. 747	14
1949	In Re Bell Tone Records, Inc.	86 F. Supp. 806	14
1960	Broadcasters, Inc. v. Morristown Broadcasting Corp.	185 F. Supp. 641	13
1958	Dollac Corporation v. Margon Corporation	164 F. Supp. 41	13
1950	Chiplets, Inc. v. June Dairy Products Co.	89 F. Supp. 814	13
1941	Lich v. United States Rubber Co.	39 F. Supp. 675	13
1961	Farbenfabriken Bayer, A. G. v. Sterling Drug Inc.	197 F. Supp. 627	12
1954	United States v. Malfetti	125 F. Supp. 27	12

Showing the 15 most-cited of 53 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 Francis Smith?: President John F. Kennedy appointed William Francis Smith to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1961.
Was William Francis Smith appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: William Francis Smith was appointed by President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was William Francis Smith's confirmation vote?: William Francis Smith was confirmed by voice vote on August 30, 1961. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was William Francis Smith on?: William Francis Smith was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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6 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).