William Byrd Traxler Jr. (born May 1, 1948) is an American jurist who currently serves as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...

Early life and education

Traxler was born in Greenville,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He earned his

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 ...

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 The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...

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

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charlest ...

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 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 February 27, 1992, and received his commission on March 2, 1992. His service terminated on October 21, 1998, due to elevation to the

. 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 William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

nominated Traxler to the

to replace Judge Donald Stuart Russell, 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 John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...

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 Roger L. Gregory (born July 17, 1953) is an American lawyer who serves as the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Background Gregory was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but grew u ...

. Traxler 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 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