Joseph William Woodrough (August 29, 1873 – October 2, 1977) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. By total service, Woodrough is the longest-serving federal judge in history, with a total service tenure of 61 years, although by active service he is only the twelfth-longest-serving at 44 years and 275 days.
Joseph William Woodrough
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
Born 1873 in Cincinnati, OH
Died 1977
FJC ID: 2644
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 18/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 167/year
Nebraska District Court · 1916–1933Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1933–1977
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Omaha, Nebraska1898–1916
- Ward County, TexasCounty attorney · 1897
- Ward County [Texas] CourtJudge · 1894–1896
Appointments
1933–1977 · Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)Term ended: Death
1916–1933 · Appointed by Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- Heidelberg University, Germany
- Read law1893