William U. Hill (Wyoming)
This page is about the Wyoming Supreme Court judge. For information about the Colorado Supreme Court judge, please see William A. Hill (Colorado). If you are looking for information on the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission member, please see William B. Hill, Jr.. For information on the Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge for the District of North Dakota, please see William A. Hill (North Dakota).
William U. Hill was a justice on the Wyoming Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court on November 3, 1998, by Republican Governor Jim Geringer. He was retained by voters in 2000, 2008, and 2016.[1][2] He retired from the bench on February 16, 2018.[3] His last term would have expired on January 5, 2025.
Hill previously was the attorney general of Wyoming from 1995 to 1998.
Education
Hill received his B.A. from the University of Wyoming in 1970 and graduated from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1974.[1]
Career
Hill has served as U.S. attorney for Wyoming, assistant attorney general for Wyoming, and as chief of staff-chief counsel for Senator Malcolm Wallop in Washington, D.C. Hill also spent years in private practice. In 1995, Hill became the attorney general of Wyoming. He was serving in this capacity when he joined the Wyoming Supreme Court in 1998. Justice Hill served as Wyoming's chief justice from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2006.[1]
Elections
2016
Hill filed to stand for retention by voters in 2016.[4]
Election results
November 8 general election
William U. Hill (Wyoming) was retained in the Wyoming Supreme Court. He won election with 76.24% of the vote.
| Wyoming Supreme Court, Hill's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 William U. Hill (Wyoming) | 76.24% | |
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State Official Results | ||
2008
Hill was retained with 79% of the vote.[5]
Noteworthy cases
Warrantless drug search
In March of 2008, the Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the conviction of Jeremy Fenton by Laramie County District Court Judge Peter Arnold. Fenton had (conditionally) pleaded guilty to charges convicting him of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver; the conditional terms allowed him to challenge Judge Arnold's ruling which had denied his motion to suppress evidence found and statements made during a search of his home. "The Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Justice William Hill, said the state failed to prove the search that disclosed the evidence which was the basis for the charge against Benton was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution.
Hill's opinion quoted the amendment that protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures and case law "'because we wish to make clear that the issue presented in a case such as this is one of the most important known to Anglo-American jurisprudence.'"[6]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Hill received a campaign finance score of 1.14, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.37 that justices received in Wyoming.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[7]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wyoming Justice William Hill. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Wyoming Judicial Branch, Justice William U. Hill
- Project Vote Smart, Justice William U. Hill (WY)
- League of Women Voters, Judicial Guide 2008 (See page 2)
- University of Wyoming, "Justice William U. Hill to Speak at UW's Torchlight Laurels April 25, 2008"
- Wyoming State Bar, "Ethically Speaking - Supreme Court Adopts Changes to the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct," June 2006
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ Wyoming Judicial Branch, "Justice William U. Hill," accessed August 10, 2016
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Wyoming supreme court justice to retire," October 2, 2017
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "2016 Judges Standing for Retention," accessed August 10, 2016
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, 2008 Judicial Retentions Official Summary
- ↑ Trib.com, "Warrantless drug search unconstitutional, Supreme Court says," March 26, 2007 (dead link)
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Wyoming • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Wyoming
State courts:
Wyoming Supreme Court • Wyoming District Courts • Wyoming Circuit Courts • Wyoming Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wyoming • Wyoming judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wyoming
