William Byrd Traxler Jr. (born May 1, 1948) is an American jurist who currently serves as a
United States circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Early life and education
Traxler was born in
Greenville,
South Carolina. He earned his
Bachelor of Arts degree from
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan†...
in 1970 and his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of South Carolina School of Law in 1973.
Professional career
Traxler worked in the office of United States Army Reserve Adjutant General, from 1970 to 1978. He practiced private law in Greenville from 1973 to 1974 before working as a criminal prosecutor in the Office of the solicitor for South Carolina's
13th Judicial Circuit from 1975 to 1981.
From 1981 to 1985, he served as
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
for the 13th Judicial Circuit, where he was the circuit's chief criminal prosecutor. In 1985, Traxler was elected by the General Assembly of South Carolina to be a state circuit court judge, where he served until becoming a federal judge in 1992.
Federal judicial service
Traxler 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 ...
in 1991, to a seat on the
vacated by
Clyde H. Hamilton
Clyde Henry Hamilton (February 8, 1934 – September 2, 2020) was a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and a former United States district judge for the United States District Court for ...
. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on February 27, 1992, and received his commission on March 2, 1992.
His service terminated on October 21, 1998, due to elevation to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Traxler presided over a significant First Amendment case, Hall vs. Marion School District 2. In 1993, Judge Traxler ruled in favor of the plaintiff in this important case. He ruled that defendant Mullins District 2 acted illegally in firing a teacher for exercising free speech in criticizing her superintendent and school board. The school district appealed the case to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which affirmed. The case became one of the most important First Amendment cases to be decided by the 4th Circuit in over a decad
hut Up and Teach: First Amendment Under Fire chronicles the lawsuit.
On July 10, 1998, President
Bill Clinton nominated Traxler to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to replace Judge
Donald Stuart Russell
Donald Stuart Russell (February 22, 1906 – February 22, 1998) was an American attorney from South Carolina who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, President of the University of South Carolina, governor of South Carol ...
, who had died on February 22, 1998. The Senate confirmed Traxler by a voice vote on September 28, 1998. He received his commission on October 1, 1998.
On the retirement of Chief Judge
Karen J. Williams
Karen Johnson Williams (August 4, 1951 – November 2, 2013) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, appointed in 1992 and served as its Chief Judge from 2007 until her retirement in 2009. W ...
in July 2009, Traxler became the
Chief Judge
A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
of the 4th Circuit Court.
While he was serving as the chief judge, Traxler joined the
Charleston School of Law
The Charleston School of Law (CSOL) is a private for-profit law school in Charleston, South Carolina. It was established in 2003 and accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) in August 2011. The school was founded upon a principle of promo ...
as a distinguished visiting professor of law in 2009. In February 2013, Chief Justice
John Roberts named Traxler the chair of the executive committee of the
Judicial Conference of the United States
The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...
. Traxler's term as the chief judge ended on July 8, 2016, and he was succeeded by Judge
Roger Gregory.
Traxler assumed
senior status on August 31, 2018.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traxler, William Byrd Jr.
1948 births
20th-century American judges
Davidson College alumni
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
Living people
People from Greenville, South Carolina
Military personnel from South Carolina
South Carolina state court judges
South Carolina state solicitors
United States Army reservists
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton
United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
University of South Carolina School of Law alumni
21st-century American judges