Karen Johnson Williams (August 4, 1951 – November 2, 2013) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, appointed in 1992 and served as its Chief Judge from 2007 until her retirement in 2009. Williams was mentioned as a potential nominee to the United States Supreme Court during the administration of George W. Bush.
Karen J. Williams
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Born 1951 in Orangeburg, SC
Died 2013 in Orangeburg, SC
FJC ID: 2598
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 14/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 358/year
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1992–2013
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Female
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Judicial Conference of the United StatesMember · 2007–2009
Board member · 2006–2007- Private practice, Orangeburg, South Carolina1980–1992
Appointments
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitChief Judge1992–2013 · Appointed by George H.W. Bush (Republican)Term ended: Death
Education
J.D. · 1980- Columbia CollegeB.A. · 1972