William Hoeveler | |
Office: | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida |
Term Start: | January 31, 1991 |
Term End: | November 18, 2017 |
Office1: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida |
Term Start1: | April 26, 1977 |
Term End1: | January 31, 1991 |
Appointer1: | Jimmy Carter |
Predecessor1: | Peter T. Fay |
Successor1: | Wilkie D. Ferguson |
Birth Name: | William Marcellin Hoeveler |
Birth Date: | 23 August 1922 |
Birth Place: | Paris, France |
Death Place: | Coral Gables, Florida |
Education: | Bucknell University (BA) Harvard Law School (LLB) |
Allegiance: | United States |
Branch: | United States Marine Corps |
Serviceyears: | 1942–1946 |
Rank: | Lieutenant |
Battles: | World War II/Pacific War |
William Marcellin Hoeveler (August 23, 1922 – November 18, 2017) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Hoeveler was born in 1922 in Paris, France. He was a standout athlete in football, basketball, tennis, volleyball and track while attending Haverford High School in Havertown, Pennsylvania from which he graduated in 1941. He then attended Temple University but left college to enlist in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, where he served a tour of duty in the Pacific as a lieutenant from 1942 to 1946. Hoeveler graduated from Bucknell University, where he was a member of Sigma Chi, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947. He graduated from Harvard Law School with a Bachelor of Laws in 1950. Hoeveler conducted private practice in Miami, Florida from 1951 to 1977.
President Jimmy Carter nominated Hoeveler to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on April 5, 1977, to the seat vacated by Judge Peter T. Fay. Confirmed by the Senate on April 25, 1977, he received commission on April 26, 1977. He assumed senior status on January 31, 1991. Hoeveler gained a reputation as a champion of the Everglades and an opponent of Florida's sugar industry ("Big Sugar") during his time on the bench. He also presided over the trial of deposed Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega and hearings in the Elián González affair.[1] He died on November 18, 2017, at his home in Coral Gables, aged 95.[2]