Federal Judicial Service
Williams was a U.S. District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1985 until 1999. President Reagan nominated her on March 13, 1985, to a newly created seat on the court, and she was confirmed by the Senate on April 3, 1985. Her confirmation made her the first-ever African-American female judge appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
On August 5, 1999, President Clinton nominated Williams to fill a vacancy on the Seventh Circuit caused by the retirement of Judge Walter J. Cummings, Jr. Williams was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on November 10, 1999, making her the first African-American judge on the Seventh Circuit.
Williams was mentioned by some media outlets as a possible choice for nomination to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter in 2009 and to replace Justice John Paul Stevens in 2010.
Read more about this topic: Ann Claire Williams
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