Kathleen Mary Williams (born 1956) is
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
. She previously served as the
Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida.
Early life and education
Williams graduated from
Duke University with her
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 year ...
''
magna cum laude'' in History, in 1978 and from the
University of Miami School of Law
The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida.
Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school i ...
with a
Juris Doctor in 1982.
Legal career
Following law school graduation, Williams became a law clerk for the firm of Colson & Hicks, P.A. in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
from 1980 – 1982. From 1982 – 1984 she was an associate attorney with Fowler, White, Burnett, Hurley, Banick & Strickroot
where she handled many aspects of insurance defense matters including
legal research Legal research is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a prob ...
and writing, filing and arguing
pretrial motions, and taking
depositions. In 1984, Williams was an
Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
where she prosecuted more than 50 defendants in over 20 jury trials, including two litigations involving the first Colombian defendants extradited to the United States on
money laundering charges and one involving the Ochoa drug cartel. Williams was in this position until 1988. Williams became an associate attorney for the firm of
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius from 1988–1990 and focused on
white collar criminal defense. Between 1990 and 1995, she became the Chief Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida.
Williams acted as lead attorney or co-counsel in approximately ten trials in defense of clients charged with crimes ranging from
firearms violations to
bank fraud. In 1995, Williams became the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida where she managed and directed the work of 48 Assistant Federal Defenders, 16 investigators, and over 50 support staff. Her responsibilities included all aspects of federal criminal litigation in diverse matters including
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
,
narcotics trafficking
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
,
securities fraud
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in lo ...
, and
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
cases. In 1999, at the request of the Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit, Williams became the Acting Federal Public Defender for the
while continuing to serve as the Defender for the Southern District of Florida.
Federal judicial service
On July 21, 2010, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
nominated Williams to replace
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 ...
Daniel T. K. Hurley on the
.
The United States Senate confirmed Williams by
unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...
on August 2, 2011.
She received her judicial commission on August 4, 2011.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Kathleen M.
1956 births
Living people
Assistant United States Attorneys
Duke University alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
People from Derby, Connecticut
Public defenders
United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama
University of Miami School of Law alumni
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges