Stephen F. Williams Explained

Stephen Williams
Office:Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Term Start:September 30, 2001
Term End:August 7, 2020
Office1:Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Term Start1:June 16, 1986
Term End1:September 30, 2001
Appointer1:Ronald Reagan
Predecessor1:Malcolm Richard Wilkey
Successor1:Janice Rogers Brown
Birth Name:Stephen Fain Williams
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Death Place:Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education:Yale University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Stephen Fain Williams (September 23, 1936 – August 7, 2020) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit until his death from complications with COVID-19 on August 7, 2020.

Early life and career

Williams was born in 1936 in New York City. His father, C. Dickerman Williams, was a prominent lawyer who later became the general counsel of the United States Department of Commerce. Williams graduated from Yale University in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, where he was a member of the Manuscript Society. He then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1961 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.

Williams was in the United States Army Reserve as a Private E-2 from 1961 to 1962. He engaged in private practice from 1962 to 1966 and became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1966. From 1969 to his appointment to the bench, he taught at the University of Colorado School of Law. During this time, he also served as a visiting professor of law at UCLA, University of Chicago Law School, and Southern Methodist University and he was a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission.

Federal judicial service

Williams was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on February 19, 1986, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge Malcolm R. Wilkey. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 13, 1986, and received commission on June 16, 1986. He assumed senior status on September 30, 2001.[1]

In March 2017, Williams questioned if the government could constitutionally keep all prisoner court filings secret when the court, unanimous in judgment but in divided opinions, found that the press could not access classified video of Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab being force fed during the Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes.[2]

Death

Williams was diagnosed with COVID-19 in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C. He was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital and put on a ventilator. On August 7, 2020, after about two months in the hospital, he died from complications as a result of the virus.[3]

Author

Williams was the author of numerous books and scholarly articles. His book, Liberal Reform in an Illiberal Regime, 1906–1915: The Creation of Private Property in Russia, was described by former acting Prime Minister of Russia Yegor Gaidar as "absolutely splendid".

Notes and References

  1. Book: Bliss . M.L.. Kennedy . R.A.. Irvine . D.R.. The American Bench; Judges of the Nation. 2000. Forster-Long. 9780931398421. 0160-2578. 2015-05-15.
  2. Dhiab v. Trump . 852 . F.3d . 1087 . D.C. Cir.. 2017. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9777096058108592010 .
  3. News: Kunkle . Fredrick . August 8, 2020 . Stephen F. Williams, longtime federal appeals judge in D.C., dies of coronavirus at 83 . August 11, 2020 . The Washington Post.

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