[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10448-S10449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO JUDGE GLEN MORGAN WILLIAMS

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a wonderful 
gentleman and a respected judge who has served our country with 
distinction and also helped start my legal career, which has ultimately 
led to where I stand today: Judge Glen Morgan Williams.
  As a newly minted graduate fresh out of the University of Virginia 
Law School, I had the honor of serving as a clerk to Judge Williams, an 
experience that had a profound affect on me. I was privileged to see 
first hand how Judge Williams' legal knowledge and fairness--as a judge 
on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia--has 
served the people of Virginia and America. I also had the unique 
privilege of hearing his stories of life, his commonsense wisdom and 
special humor and laughs.
  Prior to serving as a Federal judge, Glen Williams served with 
distinction in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

[[Page S10449]]

Judge Williams served as a minesweeper in the Atlantic, Pacific and 
Mediterranean theaters and was decorated for his service with the 
Commander's Citation. Judge Williams participated in the invasion of 
Southern France and thereafter commanded the USS Seer in the Pacific 
until 1946.
  Upon returning from the war, Judge Williams entered private law 
practice where he quickly became one of the leading trial lawyers in 
Virginia and one of the Nation's leading experts on Social Security, 
where he testified before Congress on Social Security reform.
  Judge Williams began his tenure on the U.S. District Court for the 
Western District of Virginia, serving as a magistrate from 1963 to 
1975.
  On September 8, 1976, Judge Williams was nominated by President 
Gerald R. Ford to serve as a judge on that distinguished court and 
ultimately won Senate confirmation on September 17, 1976.
  During his time on the court, Judge Williams has been instrumental in 
reestablishing the Big Stone Gap division of the court and the opening 
of the clerk's office down there in the far southwest part of Virginia.
  During his 30 years of service on the bench, Judge Williams has 
written more than 300 published opinions in every area of Federal law. 
Judge Williams' opinions have been particularly influential in the coal 
mining industry weighing the rights of coal miners, operators and 
landowners and interpreting the constitutionality of the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act.
  Judge Williams' 30 years of service have been instrumental in shaping 
jurisprudence in the Western District of Virginia and has been an 
admired, outstanding and loved mentor for scores of Virginia lawyers 
who have had the privilege of learning from his experience. Besides 
myself, former clerks also include a member of the Virginia Supreme 
Court and many of the best lawyers in Virginia and throughout the 
country.
  I have the ability to speak today about this magnificent wonderful 
gentleman, lawyer and judge who has been so positively influential in 
my life and career. On behalf of all his clerks and staff throughout 
the years, I thank Judge Williams for his 30 years of exemplary service 
to our country on the Federal bench.
  Moreover, I thank God for sending into our world and my life a 
character of a man with truly unmatched wit and wisdom, the truly 
honorable Glen M. Williams of Lee County, VA.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, it is my privilege today to speak in honor 
of a longtime servant to the Federal judiciary, the Honorable Glen 
Morgan Williams, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of 
Virginia.
  I have been in the Senate now for 28 years. During that time, I have 
participated in the Senate's advice and consent process more than 2,000 
times with respect to Federal judges. In fact, of all active Federal 
judges on the district court bench in Virginia, I have had the distinct 
privilege of voting for every single one.
  There are two judges whose chambers exist in Abingdon, VA, whose 
service predates mine: Judge H. Emory Widener, Jr., and Judge Glen 
Morgan Williams. Judge Widener was confirmed to the district court in 
1969, and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 
1972. Judge Williams received his first judicial appointment, that of 
Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District 
of Virginia, in 1963. Following 12 years as a magistrate, Judge 
Williams was nominated to be a district court judge by President Gerald 
R. Ford in 1976, and he was confirmed for this position by the Senate 
on September 17, 1976. Both judges are distinguished fixtures in the 
Virginia legal community, admired and respected by all who are 
fortunate enough to know them.
  Because this year marks the thirtieth year that Judge Williams has 
served as a Federal district judge in the Western District, I join with 
my colleague from Virginia, Senator George Allen, in commending this 
exceptional jurist for his efforts.
  As a young man, Glen Williams answered his Nation's call to duty in 
World War II. Earning a commander's citation, Mr. Williams served with 
distinction in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946. Remarkably, his 
experience included the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean theaters 
and the Allies' invasion of southern France.
  Mr. Williams and I followed similar paths to our respective careers 
after our naval tours in World War II; like me, he also received his 
training in law from the University of Virginia. Starting out as a sole 
practitioner after law school, Mr. Williams began his career in 
civilian public service as a Commonwealth's Attorney, followed by a 
term in the Virginia State Senate. During his career in private 
practice, he established himself as a leading expert on Social Security 
law, and Mr. Williams' testimony on this subject was sought by the 
Congress.
  During his career on the bench, Judge Williams has produced more than 
300 published opinions on a number of matters of great importance for 
our country, and certainly for those who live and work in the coal-
mining regions of Virginia's beautiful Western District. In fact, the 
U.S. Supreme Court cited Judge Williams' opinions with respect to the 
funding of health care for beneficiaries of the United Mine Workers 
Health and Retirement Funds in its interpretation of the Coal Act.
  While Judge Williams assumed senior status in the Western District in 
1988, he remains active in both the Abingdon and Big Stone Gap 
divisions through the present day. In particular, he is to be commended 
for his diligence in reestablishing the Big Stone Gap division and for 
the reopening of both the clerk's office and the courthouse in this 
division.
  Judge Williams remains an asset for our Federal judicial system, for 
his knowledge and insight as well as for his mentorship of the many 
judicial law clerks who have had the opportunity to work with him, 
including Senator Allen. In honor of his 30 years of service to our 
Federal judiciary as a Federal district court judge, I simply say to 
Judge Glen Williams, ``Well done, Your Honor.'' Your longevity and 
commitment to our Constitution, to our third branch of government, and 
to those four words that are forever engraved into the marble at the 
United States Supreme Court--``Equal Justice Under Law''--remain the 
hallmarks of your remarkable career.

                          ____________________