Glen Morgan Williams (February 17, 1920 – November 4, 2012) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
Education and career
Born in
Jonesville,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, Williams received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree from
Milligan College
Milligan University is a private Christian university in Milligan College, Tennessee. Founded in 1866 as the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, and known as Milligan College from 1881 to May 2020, the school has a student population of more tha ...
in 1940, and enrolled in the fall of 1941 at the
University of Virginia School of Law. After the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, having never seen the ocean. During his officer training, he was a roommate of
Herman Wouk
Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.
His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ...
, who told of their experiences in the opening chapter of
The Caine Mutiny
''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the moral ...
. Williams was a
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, from 1942 to 1946. After his discharge, he returned to law school and received a
Juris Doctor from the
University of Virginia School of Law in 1948. Before his graduation, he was elected
Commonwealth's attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...
of
Lee County, Virginia in 1948, and served in that position until 1952. He was in private practice in Jonesville from 1952 to 1976. He was a member of the
Virginia Senate
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...
from 1953 to 1955. Williams was a part-time
United States magistrate judge
In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...
for the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia from 1963 to 1975. In 1964, Williams ran as the Republican nominee for Congress in
Virginia's Ninth District but lost to the incumbent,
W. Pat Jennings.
Federal judicial service
Williams was a federal judge on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Williams was nominated by President
Gerald Ford on September 8, 1976, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia vacated by Judge
Theodore Roosevelt Dalton
Theodore Roosevelt Dalton (July 3, 1901 – October 30, 1989) was a Virginia attorney and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He was known as Virginia's "Mr. Republican."
Ed ...
, after Senator
William L. Scott
William Lloyd Scott (July 1, 1915February 14, 1997) was an American Republican politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He served in both the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. He was the first Republican elec ...
derailed the nomination of the President's first choice. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on September 17, 1976, and received his commission the same day. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on November 21, 1988. Williams took inactive senior status in February 2010.
Law clerks
Williams' former law clerks include
Cynthia D. Kinser
Cynthia Dinah Kinser (born December 20, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Kinser was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to her first 12-year term to the Virginia Supreme Court in 1 ...
, the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Virginia;
George Allen George Allen may refer to:
Politics and law
* George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team
* George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...
, who served as Governor of Virginia and a member of the United States Senate; Karen Gould, the first woman to serve as executive director of the
Virginia State Bar
The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...
; Virginia Circuit Court judges Randall Lowe and John Kilgore; United States Magistrate Judge Cynthia Eddy of the Western District of Pennsylvania; United States Bankruptcy Judge Trish Brown of the District of Oregon.
Notable cases
Williams' most famous cases involved the coal mining industry. He wrote an opinion addressing the constitutionality of the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States.
SMCRA created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second ...
. The Supreme Court agreed in part and disagreed in part with his conclusions. He dealt with the civil disobedience of the
United Mine Workers of America
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
in connection with the
Pittston Coal strike
The Pittston Coal strike was a United States strike action led by the United Mine Workers Union (UMWA) against the Pittston Coal Company, nationally headquartered in Pittston, Pennsylvania. The strike, which lasted from April 5, 1989 to Febr ...
in 1989–1990. He enjoined the members of the Bituminous Coal Operators Association to pay more for the health care of 100,000 retired and disabled miners, in a case that led to the passage of the Coal Act, 26 U.S.C. 9701, et seq.
[McGlothlin v. Connors, 142 F.R.D. 626 (W.D. Va. 1992), cited by the Supreme Court in Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co., 534 U.S. 438 (2002).]
Death
Williams donated his papers to the
Appalachian School of Law
The Appalachian School of Law (ASL) is an ABA-approved private law school on a four building campus in Grundy, Virginia, a small town near the convergence of Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The school offers a three-year Juris Doctor de ...
.
He died November 4, 2012, at the age of 92, in
Johnson City,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
.
References
External links
*
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5063, honoring Judge Glen M. Williams"Judge Glen M. Williams, 'A Member of the Greatest Generation,'" by Judge James P. Jones”Tribute to Judge Glen Morgan Williams, 152 Cong. Rec. S10448 (Sept. 28, 2006), remarks of Senators Allen and WarnerHONORING U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE GLEN WILLIAMS, ___ Cong. Rec. ___ (Nov. 15, 2012), remarks of Rep. Griffith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Glen Morgan
1920 births
2012 deaths
20th-century American judges
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Milligan University alumni
People from Jonesville, Virginia
United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford
United States magistrate judges
United States Navy officers
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
Republican Party Virginia state senators