Harry Andrew Blackmun
How Judge Blackmun rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Blackmun no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Blackmun decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Resolves contractual-arbitrability doubts in favor of the parties’ agreed arbitration process.
“Doubts should be resolved in favor of coverage”
Requires more than suspicion before enforcing an administrative finding with serious consequences.
“All this adds up to nothing more than mere suspicion. That is not enough.”
Procedural preferences
Reviews jurisdictional factfinding for clear error while remaining willing to reverse when the record does not support it.
“The court’s determination of absence of diversity here (which, as noted above, we treat as a specific finding of fact to that effect) is not to be set aside unless clearly erroneous.”
Reads an ambiguous regulatory basis strictly when revocation is likely to be followed by a punitive civil penalty.
“Such a penalty certainly is punitive. This at least prompts us to view the statute with an attitude of reasonable strictness and to demand for this case a stronger statutory or regulation basis than we are presently able to discover.”
Cautions
Leaves fact-bound fraud questions to the jury when the governing issues turn on the evidence.
“The controlling issues, however, were for the jury.”
Defers credibility conflicts to the designated factfinder when the record supplies adequate support.
“these are matters for the trier of fact and not for this court”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The district court’s denial of the petitioner’s motion to vacate sentence is therefore affirmed.”
“The dismissal of the plaintiffs’ complaint is therefore affirmed.”
“Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.”
“The judgment of the district court is therefore affirmed.”
“The petition for review is therefore granted. The Board’s order of March 8, 1961, is reversed and the case is remanded with instructions to affirm the examiner’s initial decision.”
“The district court’s judgments of dismissal of the three cases were proper. Those judgments are affirmed.”
A historical record
Judge Blackmun 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.