Devitt Award

23rd Annual
Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award Recipient

William W. Schwarzer

 

William W. Schwarzer, senior U.S. district judge of the Northern District of California, has been selected as the 2004 recipient of the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. Schwarzer was chosen by a three-member panel chaired by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy; other members of the panel are Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit; and Judge Peter Messitte, District Judge, District of Maryland.

“Judge Schwarzer has been a brilliant, distinguished, compassionate servant of the law and has served as a federal judge for nearly three decades,” said the panel members in a joint statement. “Members of the bench and the bar nationwide are indebted to Judge Schwarzer for his example and his service, and for his remarkable contributions to the judiciary.”

Schwarzer was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Prior to his federal appointment, he was in private law practice and served the president as senior counsel for the President’s Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States, also known as the Rockefeller Commission. Schwarzer is also former director of the Federal Judicial Center, which he gave distinguished service from 1990 to 1995. During his tenure at the Center, he established the Office of Interjudicial Affairs which provides assistance and education to foreign judiciaries. Schwarzer has traveled to China, Taiwan, former Yugoslavia, Romania, and Russia.

The Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award is named for the late Edward J. Devitt, longtime chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The award, made annually, honors Article III judges whose careers have been exemplary, measured by their significant contributions to the administration of justice, the advancement of the rule of law, and the improvement of society as a whole. It is administered by AJS with funding provided by the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation, Minneapolis. The honor includes $15,000 and is symbolized by an inscribed crystal obelisk. The award will be presented at a ceremony this fall.

Statement by Devitt Award Selection Panel

Since the beginning of the Republic, there have been renowned and distinguished jurists on the federal bench. Each year the Devitt Committee meets to honor a federal judge whose service has brought particular distinction to the federal bench and to the Rule of Law. This year the Committee has chosen William Schwarzer, Senior United States District Judge of the Northern District of California, to receive the Devitt Award.

Judge Schwarzer has been a brilliant, distinguished, compassionate servant of the law and has served as a federal judge for nearly three decades. He has written over 75 books, monographs, and manuals on legal subjects. Many of these contributions concern management of litigation and trial techniques, subjects which are best treated by a fine scholar who has been a skilled trial lawyer and excellent judge. These qualities describe Judge Schwarzer and his writings. His contribution in this area alone would have deserved the Devitt Award.

In addition, however, the judge has made many other contributions to the law. He has played a distinguished role in suggesting ways to improve State-Federal cooperation, promoting Rule of Law initiatives through assistance to foreign judiciaries, and serving as an innovative and distinguished Director of the Federal Judicial Center. These achievements were all in tandem with exceptional performance of his judicial duties, not only as a trial judge but also as an effective, respected member of judicial panels on Courts of Appeal throughout the country. Members of the bench and bar nationwide are indebted to Judge Schwarzer for his example and his service, and for his remarkable contributions to the judiciary of the United States and to the Law.