William Thomas Sweigert
Appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959 and confirmed by voice vote, William Thomas Sweigert was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He earned a law degree from St. Ignatius College (now Univ. of San Francisco) School of Law in 1923. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1900–1983
- Appointed by
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- St. Ignatius College (now of San Francisco) 1921 · St. Ignatius College (now Univ. of San Francisco) Law 1923
- Succeeded
- Edward Preston Murphy
- Succeeded by
- William Horsley Orrick Jr.
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Northern District of California succeeded Edward Preston Murphy | Eisenhower (R) | 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
| St. Ignatius College (now University of San Francisco) | A.B. | 1921 |
| St. Ignatius College (now Univ. of San Francisco) School of Law | LL.B. | 1923 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Sweigert authored 91 published opinions for the court (1959–1982). Most cited: Hecht v. Harris, Upham & Co. (123 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Hecht v. Harris, Upham & Co. | 283 F. Supp. 417 | 123 |
| 1968 | Western Addition Community Organization v. Weaver | 294 F. Supp. 433 | 55 |
| 1969 | Brice v. Landis | 314 F. Supp. 974 | 40 |
| 1974 | Kapp v. National Football League | 390 F. Supp. 73 | 37 |
| 1972 | Western Addition Community Organization v. Alioto | 340 F. Supp. 1351 | 34 |
| 1968 | Norman v. McKee | 290 F. Supp. 29 | 34 |
| 1973 | Jong v. General Motors Corporation | 359 F. Supp. 223 | 30 |
| 1971 | Western Addition Community Organization v. Alioto | 330 F. Supp. 536 | 29 |
| 1968 | Gann v. Wilson | 289 F. Supp. 191 | 24 |
| 1960 | United Grocers, Ltd. v. United States | 186 F. Supp. 724 | 24 |
| 1966 | Transamerica Corporation v. United States | 254 F. Supp. 504 | 22 |
| 1972 | Sierra Club v. Volpe | 351 F. Supp. 1002 | 20 |
| 1970 | Brush v. San Francisco Newspaper Printing Company | 315 F. Supp. 577 | 20 |
| 1969 | United States v. Nussbaum | 306 F. Supp. 66 | 20 |
| 1978 | Ahmed v. American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection & Indemnity Ass'n | 444 F. Supp. 569 | 19 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 91 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 Thomas Sweigert?
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed William Thomas Sweigert to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1959.
- Was William Thomas Sweigert appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Thomas Sweigert was appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Thomas Sweigert's confirmation vote?
- William Thomas Sweigert was confirmed by voice vote on September 14, 1959. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Thomas Sweigert on?
- William Thomas Sweigert was 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
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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23 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).