William Bauer

William Bauer
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Current Court Information:
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Title:	Senior Judge
Service:
Appointed by:	Gerald Ford
Active:	12/20/1974 - 10/31/1994
Chief:	1986-1993
Senior:	10/31/1994 - Present
Preceded by:	Otto Kerner, Jr.
Succeeded by:	Diane Wood
Past post:	Northern District of Illinois
Past term:	1971-1975
Past position:	Seat #3T
Personal History
Undergraduate:	Elmhurst College '49
Law School:	DePaul U. Law '52

William Joseph Bauer is a Federal Appeals Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He joined the court in 1974 after being nominated by President Gerald Ford. Bauer is a judge serving on senior status.

Early life and education

Bauer graduated from Elmhurst with his Bachelor's Degree in 1949 and later graduated from DePaul Law with his juris doctorate degree in 1952 Bauer also served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947.

Professional career

Bauer started his career in the DuPage County State Attorney's Office as Assistant state's attorney from 1952-1956 and also served as First assistant state's attorney with DuPage County from 1956 to 1958 before being elected as Full-Fledge DuPage County State's attorney in 1958 and was re-elected in 1962 before resigning in 1964 to run for Circuit Court Judge. In 1964, Bauer was elected Circuit Court Judge in the Circuit Court for the 18th judicial circuit based in DuPage County from 1964 and was re-elected in 1968 before leaving DuPage County Circuit Court in 1970 when President Richard Nixon nominated Bauer to become U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1970 to 1971 when he was nominated to the Federal Bench. Bauer also served as a Private practice attorney in the State of Illinois from 1953 to 1964 and as an Instructor at Elmhurst from 1952 to 1959.

Judicial career

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Charles Percy, Bauer was nominated by President Gerald Ford on December 11, 1974 to a seat vacated by Otto Kerner, Jr. Bauer was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 19, 1974, and received commission on December 20, 1974. Bauer served as Chief Judge of the court from 1986 to 1993 before later assuming senior status on October 31, 1994.

Northern District of Illinois

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Charles Percy, Bauer was nominated by President Richard Nixon on September 14, 1971 to a seat vacated by Joseph Perry Bauer was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 8, 1971 on a Senate vote and received commission on November 10, 1971. Bauer left the Northern District of Illinois on January 3, 1975 due to his appointment to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Bauer was succeeded in this position by Alfred Kirkland.

Threat after gun case

Judge Bauer faced a death threat from a blogger in the State of New Jersey after the ruling in the National Rifle Association v. Chicago case. The death threat happened after Judge Bauer participated in the gun rights case with fellow judges Frank Easterbrook and Richard Posner.

The three judges, on June 2, 2009, unanimously upheld the ban on handguns in the City of Chicago. The judges on the panel ruled that the Second Amendment does not preempt Chicago's handgun ban. Hal Turner, the blogger from New Jersey, was not happy with the judge's decision and posted a headline on his blog saying, "these judges deserve to be killed" after the Seventh Circuit issued their ruling.

Hal Turner was charged with threatening a federal judge. Under the Court Security Enhancement Act of 2007, Turner would face a long prison sentence if convicted. On December 8, 2009, Turner was acquitted in the first trial after the jury was deadlocked in reaching a verdict.

Judge Bauer testified on March 2, 2010, in the second trial of Hal Turner. Bauer, along with fellow judges Frank Easterbrook and Richard Posner, testified as witnesses for the prosecution. None of the three judges were called as witnesses during the first trial for Turner.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

External links

• Judge Bauer's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by: Joseph Perry	Northern District of Illinois 1971–1975 Seat #3T	Succeeded by: Alfred Kirkland
Preceded by: Otto Kerner, Jr.	Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals 1974–present	Succeeded by: Diane Wood