Quick facts
Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Position circuit
Status Retired 2008
Served 1976–2008
Appointed by Gerald Ford (Republican)
Commissioned 1976-05-07
Education University of Illinois, A.B., 1942; University of Illinois College of Law, J.D., 1948
Signed orders read 25
Last updated 2026-07-15
Motion outcomes
AppealN = 23
counts only
3 2 16 2
Petition for reviewN = 2
counts only
2
Counted from classified signed orders. A “1 of 1” is one ruling, not a tendency.
About this data
A free Ezel research resource. This profile is built from public records: the judge's own signed orders, public docket records, and published biographies. It is not legal advice and is not affiliated with the court.
How Judge Wood decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
He enforced the jurisdictional limits on appellate review strictly, declining to stretch the rules governing when and how a decision may be appealed.
“lines have to be drawn somewhere.”
He refused to let a corporate officer avoid personal tort liability by claiming he was merely carrying out a superior's directions.
“A corporate officer or director may not seek shelter from tort liability in the widely-discredited defense that he was”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
Butler v. Stover Brothers Trucking Co.
546 F.2d 544 (7th Cir. 1977) · 1977-03-24
Appeal (defendants/appellants)
Granted
“REVERSED AND REMANDED.”
Burke v. Friedman
556 F.2d 867 (7th Cir. 1977) · 1977-06-20
Appeal (employee/appellant)
Denied
“is hereby affirmed.”
In re Schnabel (Appeal of Serrano)
612 F.2d 315 (7th Cir. 1980) · 1980-01-09
Appeal (lessees/appellants)
Denied
“AFFIRMED.”
United States v. Webster
620 F.2d 640 (7th Cir. 1980) · 1980-05-06
Appeal (criminal defendant/appellant)
Denied
“Affirmed.”
J. H. Cohn & Co. v. American Appraisal Associates, Inc.
628 F.2d 994 (7th Cir. 1980) · 1980-08-01
Appeal (securities plaintiffs and mandamus petitioner/appellants)
Granted in part
“the petition for a writ of mandamus is denied, and the order dismissing the complaint in the second action is reversed.”
United States v. Acevedo
627 F.2d 68 (7th Cir. 1980) · 1980-09-03
Appeal (criminal defendant/appellant)
Denied
“AFFIRMED.”
Coop v. City of South Bend
635 F.2d 652 (7th Cir. 1980) · 1980-12-12
Appeal (municipal defendants/appellants)
Denied
“the order of the district court is affirmed.”
United States v. Rumell
642 F.2d 213 (7th Cir. 1981) · 1981-03-03
Appeal (criminal defendants/appellants)
Denied
“the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
United States v. Cord
654 F.2d 490 (7th Cir. 1981) · 1981-07-20
Appeal (criminal defendant/appellant)
Denied
“The judgment of the district court is Affirmed.”
Ashley v. Andrus
655 F.2d 105 (7th Cir. 1981) · 1981-07-27
Appeal (federal agency official/appellant)
Denied
“the grant of Mrs. Ashley's motion for summary judgment is affirmed.”
Nash v. Israel
707 F.2d 298 (7th Cir. 1983) · 1983-05-19
Appeal (state respondent/appellant)
Denied
“we affirm the district court”
Steebe v. United States Railroad Retirement Board
708 F.2d 250 (7th Cir. 1983) · 1983-05-13
Petition for review (claimant/petitioner)
Denied
“Affirmed.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Circuit judges do not carry a single assigned trial caseload.
A historical record
Judge Wood no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.