William Byrd Traxler Jr. (born May 1, 1948) is an American jurist who currently serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
William Byrd Traxler Jr.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Born 1948 in Greenville, SC
FJC ID: 2406
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 19/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 355/year
South Carolina District Court · 1992–1998Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1998–
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
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Judicial Conference of the United StatesMember · 2009–2016
Board member · 2007–2009
Resident judge · 1985–1992- Office of the Solicitor · 1975–1985
- ↳assistant solicitor · 1975–1978
- ↳deputy solicitor · 1978–1981
- ↳solicitor · 1981–1985
U.S. Army Reserve adjutant general1970–1978- Private practice, Greenville, South Carolina1973–1974
Appointments
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth CircuitChief Judge1998–2018 · Appointed by William J. Clinton (Democratic)- 1992–1998 · Appointed by George H.W. Bush (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
J.D. · 1973- Davidson CollegeB.A. · 1970