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William Riley (Eighth Circuit)
William J. Riley was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He joined the court in 2001 after being nominated by former President George W. Bush to a seat vacated by Arlen Beam. Riley served as the chief judge of the court from 2010 to 2017. He assumed senior status on June 30, 2017. His service ended on January 27, 2023, upon his death.
[1]
Education
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Riley earned his B.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1972.[1]
Professional career
- 2001 - 2023: United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
- 2017 - 2023: Senior judge
- 2010-2017: Chief judge
- 2001-2017: Judge
- 1973-2001: Private practice, Nebraska
- 1972-1973: Law clerk, Hon. Donald Lay, United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit[1]
Judicial career
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: William J. Riley |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 71 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 23, 2001
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: July 24, 2001
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: August 2, 2001
|
| Confirmed: August 2, 2001
|
| Vote: 97-0
|
Riley was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit by former President George W. Bush on May 23, 2001, to a seat vacated by Arlen Beam. The American Bar Association rated Riley Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Riley's nomination were held on July 24, 2001, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on August 2, 2001. Riley was confirmed on a recorded 97-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on August 2, 2001, and he received his commission the next day. Riley served as chief judge of the Eighth Circuit from 2010 to 2017. He elected to take senior status beginning on June 30, 2017.[1][3]
Noteworthy cases
Eighth Circuit affirms police immunity following taser death (2014)
In June 2014, the Eighth Circuit ruled that Minneapolis police officers were entitled to qualified immunity after a suspect's death in a taser incident during an arrest. Chief Judge Riley, writing for a three-judge panel of the court that included Judges Michael Melloy and Jane Kelly, affirmed the trial court's ruling, noting that the police force used was reasonable under the circumstances.
Articles:
See also
External links
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Arlen Beam |
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals 2001–2017 |
Succeeded by: Steven Grasz
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| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
