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Roger Wollman

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Roger Wollman

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

Tenure

2018 - Present

Years in position

Prior offices:

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

Years in office: 1985 - 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Tabor College, 1957

Law

University of South Dakota School of Law, 1962

Graduate

Harvard Law School, 1964

Personal

Birthplace

Frankfort, SD

Roger Leland Wollmann is afederal judge onsenior status on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He joined the court in 1985 after being nominated by former PresidentRonald Reagan (R). Wollman retired from full-time service, assuming senior status, on December 11, 2018.

Early life and education

Born in Frankfort,South Dakota, Wollmann graduated from Tabor College with his B.A. in 1957, from the University of South Dakota School of Law with hisJ.D. in 1962, and from Harvard Law School with hisLL.M. in 1964.^[1]

Military career

From 1957 to 1959, Wollman served in the United States Army.^[1]

Professional career

1967-1971: State's attorney,Brown County, South Dakota
1964-1971: Private practice,Aberdeen, S.D.
1962-1963: Law clerk, Hon. George Michelson,United States District Court for the District of South Dakota^[1]

Judicial career

1985-2018: Judge,United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
- 1999-2002: Chief judge
1971-1985: Justice,South Dakota Supreme Court
- 1978-1982: Chief justice

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Roger L. Wollman
Court:United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 24 days after nomination.
ANominated: June 25, 1985
AABA Rating:
Questionnaire:
AHearing: July 17, 1985

QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: July 18, 1985
AConfirmed: July 19, 1985
AVote: Voice vote

Wollman was nominated to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by PresidentRonald Reagan (R) on June 25, 1985, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. Hearings on Wollman's nomination were held before theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on July 17, 1985, and his nomination was reported July 18 by U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) Wollman was confirmed on a voice vote of theU.S. Senate on July 19, 1985, and he received his commission on July 22. Wollmann served aschief judge of the court from 1999 to 2002.^[1]^[2] He retired from full-time service, assumingsenior status, on December 11, 2018.

Noteworthy cases

SCOTUS reverses Eighth Circuit judgment on federal court abstention (2013)

See also:United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit (Sprint Communications Company v. Jacobs)

On December 10, 2013, theU.S. Supreme Courtreversed the judgment of a three-judge panel of theEighth Circuit. JudgeRoger Wollman delivered the opinion of the circuit panel.

In 2010, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) held that federal law allowed non-Sprint providers to charge access fees to Sprint Communications for certain Sprint-originated voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls. Sprint appealed that decision in both Iowa state courts and in a federal district court in Iowa, seeking declaratory andinjunctive relief. Responding to Sprint's filings in federal court, the IUB filed a motion asking the federal court to abstain and to dismiss the case under what is known as theYounger doctrine. The doctrine, named for the U.S. Supreme Court's decision inYounger v. Harris, mandates that federal courts cannot issue any injunction against an ongoing criminal prosecution in state courts. The federal district court determined thatYounger applied and dismissed Sprint's complaint in federal court. A three-judge panel of theEighth Circuit, in an opinion by JudgeRoger Wollman,affirmed the lower court's decision to abstain, butvacated the lower court's decision to dismiss, holding that issuing a judicial stay was required and not dismissal.^[3]

Writing for a unanimousU.S. Supreme Court, JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburgreversed the circuit panel, holding that theYounger doctrine "only required a court to abstain when there are parallel criminal cases in federal and state courts or when there are certain civil proceedings that are very similar to criminal ones."^[4]^[5]