Willis Beverly Hunt Jr. (born December 10, 1932) is an inactive

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

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 Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from cases ...

Education and career

Born in Malden,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, Hunt graduated from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1954 with 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 ...

. While a student at Emory, Hunt became a brother of the

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United Stat ...

fraternity. Since graduation, Hunt has always been in government service or the private legal profession: after completing his degree, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1955 to 1957, after which he was a special agent with the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

from 1957 to 1959. Leaving the Bureau, he practiced law privately for thirteen years: in

Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, from 1959 to 1960; in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, from 1960 to 1967; and in the Houston County, Georgia cities of

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

and

Warner Robins Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in th ...

, from 1967 to 1971. At this time, Hunt re-entered government service, being a judge on the Houston County Superior Court from 1971 to 1986. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court in 1982, finishing fifth out of six in a statewide election. He was appointed by Governor

Joe Frank Harris Joe Frank Harris (born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and Democratic politician who served as the 78th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career Harris was born in the Atco Mill Village o ...

to the Georgia Supreme Court in 1986. During his time on the Georgia Supreme Court, Hunt earned a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1990.

Federal judicial service

On January 23, 1995, Hunt 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

Horace Ward Horace Taliaferro Ward (July 29, 1927 – April 23, 2016) was a lawyer, state legislator, and judge in Georgia. He become known for his efforts to challenge the racially discriminatory practices at the University of Georgia School of Law and was ...

. Hunt 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 24, 1995, and received his commission the same day. Hunt 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 June 30, 2005. His courtroom is located in the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and United States Courthouse in

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...

Notable cases

Among Hunt's leading cases since his appointment to the federal bench was a major corruption trial in early 2001, in which the ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'' saw a connection to the scandals of the late Clinton administration. Hunt assumed

on June 30, 2005, but continues to hear cases in that capacity; and received some media coverage when he dismissed a lawsuit as "

farcical Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

" by prisoner

Jonathan Lee Riches Jonathan Lee Riches is a convicted fraudster known for the many lawsuits he has filed in various United States district courts. Riches was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, for wire fraud under the terms of a plea barg ...

against NFL Quarterback

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

.Rankin, Bill. (August 17, 2007)
Inmate's bizarre lawsuit against Vick thrown out of court
''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

''. Accessed October 3, 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Willis Beverly Jr. 1932 births Living people Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers People from Malden, Massachusetts Emory University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents United States Army soldiers Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state) People from Houston County, Georgia Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges