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William A. Fletcher
William Alan Fletcher (born June 6, 1945) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Fletcher was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1998. Fletcher is a Professor (Emeritus) at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where he still teaches federal courts.
Fletcher went to Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington, graduating in 1964. Fletcher received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1968 and another from Merton College, Oxford, in 1970 as a Rhodes Scholar. He earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1975. He clerked for Judge Stanley Alexander Weigel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 1975 to 1976. Fletcher then clerked for Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the United States Supreme Court from 1976 to 1977.
Fletcher's mother, Betty Binns Fletcher, was also a judge on the Ninth Circuit, although she held senior status from 1998 until her death in 2012.
Fletcher was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1970 to 1972 and a Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law from 1977 to 1998. Fletcher was the author of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Demers v. Austin (January 2014). He also published a 100-page dissent on the decision to deny Kevin Cooper an en banc hearing.
Fletcher was nominated twice by former President Bill Clinton, his Rhodes Scholar classmate at Oxford, for a seat on the Ninth Circuit in April 1995, and on January 7, 1997 vacated by William Albert Norris. His first nomination was never voted on by the Senate, but his second nomination was confirmed by a 57–41 vote on October 8, 1998. He received his commission on October 9, 1998.
On May 18, 2021, Judge Fletcher announced that he is assuming senior status upon the appointment of his successor. He assumed senior status on January 24, 2022.
Fletcher is seen as a pragmatist on the court. When Fletcher makes a decision, he looks at both the facts of the case and the legal reasoning behind his decision. Fletcher reported in an interview that "[p]robably the most important thing, beyond the obvious need for legal education of judges, is the development of a culture of decision making. By this I mean a judicial culture in which it is expected that judges will—to the extent of their ability and to the extent human nature will permit—state carefully, fully, and honestly the factual and legal bases for their decisions. I make no claim that American judges always live up to that ideal. We do not. But we try."
In October 2013, Fletcher delivered the 2013 Madison Lecture, "Our Broken Death Penalty". Fletcher was very critical of the death penalty, saying the title "suggests that it might have been unbroken. I think it's always been broken." In November 2014, in another speech Fletcher mentioned "The death penalty may not discourage criminals from committing murder and is very expensive."
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William A. Fletcher
William Alan Fletcher (born June 6, 1945) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Fletcher was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1998. Fletcher is a Professor (Emeritus) at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where he still teaches federal courts.
Fletcher went to Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington, graduating in 1964. Fletcher received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1968 and another from Merton College, Oxford, in 1970 as a Rhodes Scholar. He earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1975. He clerked for Judge Stanley Alexander Weigel of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 1975 to 1976. Fletcher then clerked for Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the United States Supreme Court from 1976 to 1977.
Fletcher's mother, Betty Binns Fletcher, was also a judge on the Ninth Circuit, although she held senior status from 1998 until her death in 2012.
Fletcher was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1970 to 1972 and a Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law from 1977 to 1998. Fletcher was the author of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Demers v. Austin (January 2014). He also published a 100-page dissent on the decision to deny Kevin Cooper an en banc hearing.
Fletcher was nominated twice by former President Bill Clinton, his Rhodes Scholar classmate at Oxford, for a seat on the Ninth Circuit in April 1995, and on January 7, 1997 vacated by William Albert Norris. His first nomination was never voted on by the Senate, but his second nomination was confirmed by a 57–41 vote on October 8, 1998. He received his commission on October 9, 1998.
On May 18, 2021, Judge Fletcher announced that he is assuming senior status upon the appointment of his successor. He assumed senior status on January 24, 2022.
Fletcher is seen as a pragmatist on the court. When Fletcher makes a decision, he looks at both the facts of the case and the legal reasoning behind his decision. Fletcher reported in an interview that "[p]robably the most important thing, beyond the obvious need for legal education of judges, is the development of a culture of decision making. By this I mean a judicial culture in which it is expected that judges will—to the extent of their ability and to the extent human nature will permit—state carefully, fully, and honestly the factual and legal bases for their decisions. I make no claim that American judges always live up to that ideal. We do not. But we try."
In October 2013, Fletcher delivered the 2013 Madison Lecture, "Our Broken Death Penalty". Fletcher was very critical of the death penalty, saying the title "suggests that it might have been unbroken. I think it's always been broken." In November 2014, in another speech Fletcher mentioned "The death penalty may not discourage criminals from committing murder and is very expensive."