Ann Claire Williams (born August 16, 1949) is a retired

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

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. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United Stat ...

and a former 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 court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the Uni ...

. She is currently of counsel at

Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm based in Washington, D.C. As of 2023, it is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with 2,302 attorneys, and among the highest-grossing in the world with revenues of $2.5 billion. Foun ...

Early life and education

Williams was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, to Dorothy and Joshua Williams, who were both public school teachers. She earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in elementary education and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in guidance and counseling from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Williams taught in Detroit Public Schools students before attending law school. She received her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. The school enrolls about 600 students and in addition to the J.D. ...

Professional career

After law school, Williams worked as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge Robert A. Sprecher of the

. She was one of the first two female African-American law clerks to work at that court. She then worked as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for nine years, trying major felony cases and appearing before the Seventh Circuit. She was the first woman of color to serve as supervisor in that office and was promoted to deputy chief and chief of the criminal division. She became the first chief of the Organized Drug Enforcement Task Force in 1983, responsible for organizing federal investigation and prosecution activities for a five-state region. In 1979, Williams began serving as an adjunct professor and lecturer at

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

and at John Marshall Law School. Later, as a judge, she continued teaching trial advocacy at Chicago area law schools and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. She has taught in more than 150 trial advocacy and deposition programs with the

National Institute for Trial Advocacy The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) is an American not-for-profit organization that provides lawyers with training in trial advocacy skills. NITA's founding was brought about in 1971 by the Committee on Advocacy of the Section on Ju ...

(NITA) in the United States and Europe.

Federal judicial service

Williams was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

from 1985 until 1999. An Independent, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

nominated her on March 13, 1985, to a newly created seat on the court, and she was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on April 3, 1985. She received her commission on April 4, 1985. Her confirmation made her the first woman judge of color appointed to serve on a district court in the three-state Seventh Circuit. Her service terminated on November 17, 1999, due to elevation to the court of appeals. Still an Independent, on August 5, 1999, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

nominated Williams to fill a vacancy on the

caused by the death of Judge

Walter J. Cummings Jr. Walter Joseph Cummings Jr. (September 29, 1916 – April 24, 1999) was a United States Solicitor General and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Education and career Born September 29, ...

Williams was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on November 10, 1999, making her the first judge of color on the Seventh Circuit and the third woman of color to serve on any United States Court of Appeals. She received her commission on November 15, 1999. She assumed senior status on June 5, 2017, and retired on January 16, 2018. In 2007, Williams dissented when the circuit held that failing to report to jail is itself a violent felony. Williams was mentioned by some media outlets as a possible choice for nomination to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

to replace retiring Justice

David Souter David Hackett Souter ( ; September 17, 1939 – May 8, 2025) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Appointed by President George H ...

in 2009 and to replace Justice

John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...

in 2010.

Awards

Williams was awarded the 2008 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award by the American Bar Association. In 2010, Williams became a recipient of the 28th Annual Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. It is awarded by the American Judicature Society to U.S. federal judges "whose careers have been exemplary, measured by their significant contributions to the administration of justice, the advancement of the rule of law, and the improvement of society as a whole."

Political views

In an article in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' on December 11, 1999, Williams declined to say whether she is a Republican or a Democrat, instead calling herself politically independent: "I've written on thousands of cases across the board, and I think it would be hard to type me," she said. "I don't think there is a type. I am not in Congress. We don't legislate in the courts." However, she also stated that she won't forget her roots or let her judicial robe "get in the way of my humanity".

References

External links

* *
Papers of Ann C. Williams, 1940-2019.
http://radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library Schlesinger Library], Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ann Claire 1949 births 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges African-American judges American legal scholars American women legal scholars Assistant United States attorneys Delta Sigma Theta members University of Illinois Chicago School of Law faculty 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 Detroit Living people Northwestern University faculty Notre Dame Law School alumni United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan University of Michigan School of Education alumni University of Notre Dame Trustees Wayne State University alumni