William McLaughlin Taylor Jr. (February 7, 1909 – June 17, 1985) 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
.
Education and career
Born in
Denton,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
,
Taylor's father,
William M. Taylor, was an attorney who would go on to serve on the
Supreme Court of Texas
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court ...
.
Taylor received a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from
Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1932. He was in private practice from 1932 to 1933, and was then an assistant district attorney of the Civil Department of the State of Texas from 1933 to 1936, and an assistant city attorney from 1936 to 1939. He returned to private practice in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, Texas from 1939 to 1946. He was a Reserve Captain in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, from 1944 to 1945, again returning to private practice in Dallas from 1946 to 1949. He was a judge of the 134th District Court of
Dallas County, Texas from 1949 to 1953. He was again in private practice in Dallas from 1953 to 1966.
Federal judicial service
On June 28, 1966, Taylor was nominated by President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Thomas Whitfield Davidson
Thomas Whitfield Davidson (September 23, 1876 – January 26, 1974) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in Harrison C ...
. Taylor was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on July 22, 1966, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1973 to 1977, assuming
senior status on February 7, 1979, and serving in that capacity until his death on June 17, 1985.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, William McLaughlin Jr.
1909 births
1985 deaths
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson
United States Marine Corps officers