William Walter Wilkins
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and confirmed by voice vote, William Walter Wilkins was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He earned a law degree from University of South Carolina School of Law in 1967. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Opinions & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1942 · age 84
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1986
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Davidson College 1964 · University of South Carolina Law 1967
- Succeeded
- Emory Marlin Sneeden
- Succeeded by
- Albert Diaz
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | District of South Carolina succeeded Robert Witherspoon Hemphill | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
| 1986 | Fourth Circuit succeeded Emory Marlin Sneeden | Reagan (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
| Davidson College | B.A. | 1964 |
| University of South Carolina School of Law | J.D. | 1967 |
Judicial Record
In our data, Wilkins authored 14 published opinions for the court (1981–1985). Most cited: Auto Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Interstate Agency, Inc. (24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Auto Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Interstate Agency, Inc. | 525 F. Supp. 1104 | 24 |
| 1983 | Jensen v. Conrad | 570 F. Supp. 114 | 17 |
| 1982 | Prudential Property & Casualty Co. v. Insurance Commission | 534 F. Supp. 571 | 10 |
| 1982 | Singleton v. JP Stevens & Co., Inc. | 533 F. Supp. 887 | 8 |
| 1982 | Monroe v. Monsanto Co. | 531 F. Supp. 426 | 8 |
| 1982 | Kerr v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. | 552 F. Supp. 992 | 6 |
| 1981 | South Carolina National Bank v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. | 526 F. Supp. 94 | 6 |
| 1981 | Eastern Federal Corp. v. Wasson | 525 F. Supp. 241 | 5 |
| 1985 | South Carolina National Bank v. Darmstadter | 622 F. Supp. 226 | 4 |
| 1985 | Witt v. South Carolina National Bank | 613 F. Supp. 140 | 3 |
| 1984 | Ora Corp. v. Vinson | 596 F. Supp. 1546 | 3 |
| 1983 | Turner v. Pemberton | 558 F. Supp. 1065 | 2 |
| 1982 | PA. NAT. MUT. CAS. INS. CO. v. Dawkins | 551 F. Supp. 971 | 1 |
| 1981 | In Re Grand Jury Proceedings (Macklen) | 525 F. Supp. 831 | 1 |
Showing the 14 most-cited of 14 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 Walter Wilkins?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed William Walter Wilkins to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1986.
- Was William Walter Wilkins appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- William Walter Wilkins was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was William Walter Wilkins's confirmation vote?
- William Walter Wilkins was confirmed by voice vote on June 13, 1986. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was William Walter Wilkins on?
- William Walter Wilkins was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
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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22 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).