William Joseph Bauer (born September 15, 1926) is an inactive senior

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and previously a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...

Education and career

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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

, Bauer served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1945 to 1947. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1949 from

Elmhurst College Elmhurst University is a private university in Elmhurst, Illinois. It has a tradition of service-oriented learning and an affiliation with the United Church of Christ. The university changed its name from Elmhurst College on July 1, 2020. Hist ...

and a Juris Doctor in 1952 from

DePaul University College of Law The DePaul University College of Law is the professional graduate law school of DePaul University in Chicago. The College of Law’s facilities encompass nine floors across two buildings, with features such as the Vincent G. Rinn Law Library and ...

. He served as an assistant state's attorney in

DuPage County DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...

, Illinois from 1952 to 1956, serving as first assistant state's attorney from 1956 to 1958 and serving as state's attorney from 1959 to 1964. He was an instructor at Elmhurst College from 1952 to 1959 and was in private practice in Illinois from 1953 to 1964. He served as a Judge of the

Illinois Circuit Court The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. The jurisdiction of s ...

for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit from 1964 to 1970. 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 ...

for the Northern District of Illinois from 1970 to 1971.

Federal judicial service

Bauer 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 September 14, 1971, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Joseph Sam Perry Joseph Samuel Perry (November 30, 1896 – February 18, 1984) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Early life and education Born in Carbon Hill, Alabama, Perry was the so ...

. 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 8, 1971, and received his commission on November 10, 1971. His service terminated on January 3, 1975, due to elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Bauer was nominated by President Gerald Ford on December 11, 1974, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Otto Kerner Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ...

He was confirmed by the Senate on December 19, 1974, and received his commission on December 20, 1974. He served as Chief Judge from 1986 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 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 October 31, 1994. He was a Member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1987 to 1993. On April 19, 2018, Bauer wrote the majority opinion striking down Indiana's ban on abortion due to disability as unconstitutional. Bauer was joined by Joel Flaum, over the dissent of

Daniel Anthony Manion Daniel Anthony Manion (born February 1, 1942) is an American lawyer, politician, and jurist serving as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit whose chambers are in South Bend, Indiana. ...

. This part was upheld in Box v. Planned Parenthood.

Honor

Bauer was inducted as a Laureate of

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois The Lincoln Academy of Illinois is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to recognizing contributions made by living Illinoisans. Named for Abraham Lincoln, the Academy administers the ''Order of Lincoln'', the highest award given ...

and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2010 in the area of Government & Law.

References

External links

* *
DCBA Brief Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, William J. 1926 births Living people 20th-century American judges DePaul University College of Law alumni Illinois state court judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Lawyers from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois People from Elmhurst, Illinois United States court of appeals judges appointed by Gerald Ford United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois United States Army personnel of World War II

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Honor

See also

References

External links