William James Jameson (August 8, 1898 – October 8, 1990) 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 District of Montana 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 ...

Education and career

Born in

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, Jameson received an

Artium Baccalaureus 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 the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

in 1919 and 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 the

Alexander Blewett III School of Law The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the University of Montana in Missoula. It was established in 1911 and remains Montana's only law school. , the school accepted 83 applicants. The school tied for 103rd in the 2023 '' ...

at the University of Montana in 1922. He was in private practice in

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

, Montana from 1922 to 1957, and was a member of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

from 1927 to 1930.

Federal judicial service

On March 5, 1957, Jameson was nominated by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Charles Nelson Pray Charles Nelson Pray (April 6, 1868 – September 12, 1963) was a United States representative from Montana and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Education and career Born on April 6, ...

. Jameson 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 March 26, 1957, and received his commission on March 28, 1957. He served as Chief Judge from 1965 to 1968. 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 February 27, 1969. He was a Judge of the

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals The Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals was established by the United States Congress in December 1971 with exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decisions of the U.S. district courts in cases arising under the wage and price control pro ...

from 1976 to 1987. He remained in senior status until his death on October 8, 1990.

Honors

In 1973, Jameson received the highest honor given by the American Bar Association, the

ABA Medal The American Bar Association Medal (or ABA Medal) is the highest award given by the American Bar Association for "exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence." The ABA Board of Governors chooses ...

. In 1970, he received th
Gonzaga Law Medal
the highest honor given by the

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredi ...

. The William J. Jameson Law Library at the University of Montana School of Law is named after Jameson. The

State Bar of Montana The State Bar of Montana is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the US state of Montana. Mission The association helps to: *maintain and improve the administration of justice *encourage attorneys to maintain high standards of integri ...

's highest honor is also named after Jameson. The William J. Jameson Award has been given annually since 1989 to a Montana attorney who, among other criteria, "Shows ethical and personal conduct, commitment and activities that exemplify the essence of professionalism".

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jameson, William James 1898 births 1990 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Montana United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American judges Presidents of the American Bar Association Members of the Montana House of Representatives