William Merritt Steger (August 22, 1920 – June 4, 2006) was an American politician and

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 Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. ...

Education and career

Born on August 22, 1920, in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Steger 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 the

Dedman School of Law SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in February 1925. SMU Law School is located on the campus of its parent institution, Southern Meth ...

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

in 1950. He was in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a Captain from 1942 to 1947. He was in private practice of law in Longview, Texas from 1951 to 1953. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Eastern District of Texas from 1953 to 1959. He was in private practice of law in

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

, Texas from 1959 to 1970. He was the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate for State Governor of Texas in 1960. He was a Republican candidate for

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from Texas in 1962. He was the Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 1969 to 1970.

Federal judicial service

Steger was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on October 7, 1970, to the

, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. 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 November 25, 1970, and received his commission on December 1, 1970. 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 December 31, 1987. His service was terminated on June 4, 2006, due to his death in Tyler.

Honor

The William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse was named in Steger's honor.

References

External links

* * "William M. Steger: The Campaign for Governor of Texas, 1960," by Mike Lantz. ''East Texas Historical Journal'', pp. 50 – 61. Fall, 2004. Vol XLII - No 2. * The Texas House of Representatives passed a memorial resolution for Judge Steger on May 14, 2007, that contained biographical information about him, see: * ''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections'', Governors, 1960; U.S. House, 1962 * * William Steger obituary, Burks Walter Tippit Funeral Directors, Tyler, Texas * ''

Tyler Morning Telegraph The ''Tyler Morning Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper based in Tyler, Texas, United States. It is privately owned by M. Roberts Media. History The newspaper begin publishing weekly in 1877 as the ''Weekly Courier''. In 1882, the ''Daily Courier' ...

'', June 5, 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steger, William Merritt 1920 births 2006 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas People from Dallas United States Army personnel of World War II Texas Republicans Texas Republican state chairmen Texas lawyers Dedman School of Law alumni United States Army officers United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Texas United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon 20th-century American judges