William Curtis Bryson (born August 19, 1945) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

. He also served a 7-year term as a judge on the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR) is a U.S. federal court whose sole purpose is to review denials of applications for electronic surveillance warrants (called FISA warrants) by the United States Foreign ...

, until 2018, and on September 1, 2013, became the presiding judge of that court.

Early life and education

Born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, Bryson graduated from St. John's School in 1963 and went on to receive his Artium Baccalaureus degree magna cum laude from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1969 and his Juris Doctor from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

in 1973. After graduating from law school, Bryson clerked for Judge Henry J. Friendly at the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

. Following his clerkship with Judge Friendly, he clerked for Justice

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Career

At the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

he served successively as Assistant to the

United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

, from 1978 to 1979; Chief, Appellate Section of the

United States Department of Justice Criminal Division United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

, from 1979 to 1982; Special Counsel, Organized Crime and Racketeering Section in the Criminal Division from 1982 to 1986 (where he received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service in 1984); Deputy United States Solicitor General, from 1986 to 1994; and Deputy Associate United States Attorney General (Acting Associate United States Attorney General) in 1994. Judge Bryson is among the most prolific writers on the subject of government contracts. In 2010, he was the only federal circuit judge to write more than two government contract related opinions.

Federal judicial service

On June 22, 1994, Bryson was nominated by 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 ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Howard Thomas Markey Howard Thomas Markey (November 10, 1920 – May 3, 2006) was an American jurist who served as the first Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is often credited with establishing that ...

. Bryson 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 28, 1994, and received his commission the following day. Bryson 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 January 7, 2013.

Personal life

Bryson is married to Julia Penny Clark, an attorney specializing in labor law and employee benefits. They met in law school, and clerked together at the U.S. Supreme Court. They have two daughters.

Bibliography

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryson, William Curtis 1945 births Harvard University alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Living people People from Houston United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton University of Texas School of Law alumni Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review St. John's School (Texas) alumni 20th-century American judges