William Harold Albritton III (born December 19, 1936) is a senior United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (in case citations, M.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeal ...

Education and career

Born in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Albritton graduated from

Andalusia High School Andalusia High School is a high school in Andalusia, Alabama, Andalusia, Alabama, founded in 1899. The school colors are cardinal and white and the school mascot is the bulldog. History Andalusia High School was housed in the Church Street Sch ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1959, and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1960. He was a captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

JAG Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

, from 1960 to 1962, and continued as a reserve officer until 1968. He joined the Andalusia law firm which had been founded by his great grandfather in 1887, and remained in private practice in Andalusia from 1962 to 1991. He was the President of the

Alabama State Bar The Alabama State Bar is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama. The Alabama State Bar was established in 1923 and is governed by th1975 Alabama Code, Title 34, Chapter 3 It is the "licensing and regulatory age ...

from 1990 to 1991.

District Court service

Albritton was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

on March 11, 1991, to the United States District Court in Montgomery, to a seat vacated by

Joel Fredrick Dubina Joel Fredrick Dubina (born October 26, 1947) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the Unite ...

. 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 May 9, 1991, and received his judicial commission on May 14, 1991. Albritton served as Chief Judge of the Middle District of Alabama from 1998 to 2004 and oversaw the construction of the new Federal Courthouse complex in Montgomery. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on May 17, 2004.

Personal life

He is married to the former Jane Howard and has three sons that are all practicing attorneys.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albritton, Harold 1936 births People from Andalusia, Alabama Living people Alabama lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush 20th-century American judges University of Alabama alumni University of Alabama School of Law alumni 21st-century American judges