After law school, Williams worked as a law clerk for Judge Robert A. Sprecher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 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 in Chicago 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 and at John Marshall Law School.[2] Later, as a judge, she continued teaching trial advocacy at Chicago area law schools and Harvard Law School. She has taught in more than 150 trial advocacy and deposition programs with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) in the United States and Europe.[citation needed]
Federal judicial service
Williams was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1985 until 1999. An Independent, President Ronald 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.[3] 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.[2]
Still an Independent, on August 5, 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Williams to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit caused by the retirement of Judge Walter J. Cummings Jr..[4] 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.[2] She assumed senior status on June 5, 2017, and retired on January 16, 2018.[2]
In 2007, Williams dissented when the circuit held that failing to report to jail is itself a violent felony.[5] 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[6] and to replace Justice John Paul Stevens in 2010.[7]
Awards
Williams was awarded the 2008 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award by the American Bar Association.[8] 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."[9]
Political views
In an article in the Chicago Tribune 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."[10] However, she also stated that she won't forget her roots or let her judicial robe "get in the way of my humanity".[10]
