William Donald Stiehl (December 3, 1925 – February 8, 2016) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Education and career

Born in Belleville,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Stiehl was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Lieutenant during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1943 to 1946 and again from 1950 to 1952. He received 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 Saint Louis University School of Law in 1949. In 1948, Stiehl was elected to the Belleville Town High School and Junior College Board of Education and served as its President. Stiehl also served of the Illinois Constitution Study Commission. He was in private practice in Belleville from 1952 to 1986. He was an assistant state's attorney of Belleville from 1956 to 1960. He was a special assistant attorney general of State of Illinois from 1970 to 1973.

Federal judicial service

Stiehl was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

on May 14, 1986, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. 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 June 13, 1986, and received his commission on June 16, 1986. He served as Chief Judge from 1992 to 1993. 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 November 30, 1996. Stiehl died on February 8, 2016, in Belleville, at the age of 90. His wife Celeste M. Stiehl served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

.'Federal Judge William D. Steihl of Belleville, dies at 90,' St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tim O'Neil, February 10. 2016

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stiehl, William Donald 1925 births 2016 deaths People from Belleville, Illinois School board members in Illinois Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Saint Louis University School of Law alumni United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges United States Navy officers Military personnel from Illinois