Former Eastern District of Texas chief judge William Wayne Justice passed away yesterday at his home in Austin. Judge Justice was appointed to the Eastern District bench in 1968 following several years as U.S. Attorney for the district. Judge Justice officed in Tyler for the first thirty years of his career
on the bench, then moved to Austin after taking senior status to be
closer to his daughter.
His accomplishments in over forty years on the bench were many, as detailed in the obituary in today's Austin-American Statesman. It's a good read, and will give those who didn't know much about the Judge a chance to see what all the fuss is about. My favorite quote about Judge Justice (and I can just see her saying it with a twinkle in her eye) is from my former professor the late, great Barbara Jordan, who once said that Judge Justice "helped officials in Texas state government see their duty clearly." I think the judge probably liked that one.
