William Joseph Bauer (September 15, 1926 – December 15, 2025) was an American judge who was a senior circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago from 1974 until his death, having been nominated to the position by President Gerald Ford. He previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1971 until 1975, having been nominated by President Richard Nixon. He was known for presiding over the Amoco Cadiz oil spill case.
William Joseph Bauer
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Born 1926 in Chicago, IL
Died 2025 in North Riverside, IL
FJC ID: 122
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 47/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 1,010/year
Illinois Northern District Court · 1971–1975Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals · 1974–2025
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 · 1987–1993
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois1970–1971- Illinois Circuit Court, Eighteenth Judicial CircuitJudge · 1964–1970
- Private practice, Illinois1953–1964
- DuPage County, IllinoisState's attorney · 1959–1964
- Elmhurst CollegeInstructor · 1952–1959
- DuPage County, IllinoisFirst assistant state's attorney · 1956–1958
- DuPage County, IllinoisAssistant state's attorney · 1952–1956
U.S. Army1945–1947
Appointments
1974–2025 · Appointed by Gerald Ford (Republican)Term ended: Death
1971–1975 · Appointed by Richard M. Nixon (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- DePaul University College of LawJ.D. · 1952
- Elmhurst CollegeA.B. · 1949