William Campbell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | |
| In office March 19, 1970 – October 19, 1988 | |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | |
| In office 1959–1970 | |
| Preceded by | Philip Leo Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Edwin Albert Robson |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | |
| In office October 10, 1940 – March 19, 1970 | |
| Appointed by | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Roberts McMillen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Joseph Campbell (1905-03-19)March 19, 1905 |
| Died | October 19, 1988(1988-10-19) (aged 83) West Palm Beach,Florida, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 8, includingTom |
| Education | Loyola University Chicago(LLB,LLM) |
William Joseph Campbell (March 19, 1905 – October 19, 1988) was aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Campbell was born inChicago,Illinois,[1] and was a graduate ofSt. Rita of Cascia High School.[citation needed] He received aBachelor of Laws fromLoyola University Chicago School of Law in 1926 and aMaster of Laws from the same school in 1928.[1][2] Admitted to the Illinois Bar, he was an attorney forTravelers Insurance Company in Chicago from 1925 to 1930, Campbell was in private practice in Chicago until 1940, opening the firm of Campbell and Burns.[1] The new firm's first major client was theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It was at this time that Campbell first got involved in ChicagoDemocratic politics.[citation needed] An early supporter ofFranklin D. Roosevelt, Campbell formed the Young Democrats for Roosevelt in 1932.[citation needed] For his efforts he was named Illinois administrator for the President'sNational Youth Administration in 1935, where he served until 1938 when he was designatedUnited States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois where he served until 1940.[1] As a federal prosecutor, he helped convictAl Capone oftax evasion and challenged the city's political leaders and their system of influence.[citation needed]
Campbell was nominated by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt on September 24, 1940, to theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, to a new seat authorized by 54 Stat. 219.[1] He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on October 7, 1940, and received his commission on October 10, 1940.[1] He served as a member of theJudicial Conference of the United States from 1958 to 1961, and as Chief Judge from 1959 to 1970.[1] He assumedsenior status on March 19, 1970.[1] He served as Assistant Director of theFederal Judicial Center from 1971 to 1988.[1] His service terminated on October 19, 1988, due to his death inWest Palm Beach,Florida.[1] At the time of his death, he was the longest-tenured federal judge in the United States.[citation needed]
Early in his time on the bench he conducted one of the fewtreason trials ever held in the United States. The case was a mass trial of the parents ofHerbert Hans Haupt, his aunt and uncle, and two family friends.[3][4]
Campbell won national praise for the severity of the sentences. However, on appeal, the entire group had their convictions reversed due to technical errors.[5] Walter and Otto later pleaded guilty tomisprision of treason and received 5-year sentences. Hans Haupt was retried, found guilty of treason once more, but received a life sentence. Charges were dropped against Lucille and Kate, albeit Erna Haupt was held until the war ended and deported in 1948. In 1957, Hans Haupt was granted clemency by PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower and deported to Germany on the condition that he would never return to the United States.[6]
In 1965, Campbell took on Chicago kingpinSam Giancana.[citation needed] When Giancana was asked to testify before a ChicagoGrand Jury, he invoked hisfifth amendment right to remain silent.[citation needed] Campbell granted Giancana immunity from prosecution and ordered him to testify.[citation needed] After Giancana refused, he spent the next year in jail on contempt charges.[citation needed]
When Supreme Court JusticeArthur Goldberg stepped down 1965 to accept a diplomatic post, many thought Campbell was certain to be appointed to the Court by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson.[citation needed] Johnson instead choseAbe Fortas, who resigned four years later.[citation needed] When asked about the missed opportunity many years later, Campbell said, "Although I knew Johnson intimately and personally, he was bigoted enough not to want two Catholics on the Supreme Court."[citation needed]
Although Campbell is regarded as a forefather in the state of today's justice system, he has been criticized by some prominent investigative persons for his actions. In 1947, General Motors and a number of its allies in the scheme to buy out all trolley systems in the United States, using a number of front corporations (thereby wiping out railway competition with vehicle competition), were indicted on federal anti-trust charges. Two years later the workings were exposed during a trial in Chicago. The investigative journalist Jonathan Kwitny later argued that the case was "A fine example of what can happen when important matters of public policy are abandoned by government to the self-interest of corporations." Judge Campbell was not so outraged. As punishment, he ordered GM and the other companies to pay a fine of $5,000 each. The executives were fined $1 each. The actions by GM and its allies illegally created zero competition and opened the automobile production to America without further challenge.[7]
In 1970 the Library of the United States Courts of the Seventh Circuit was named "The William J. Campbell Library of the United States Courts".[citation needed]
Campbell also received the following recognition:
In 1927, Campbell married Marie Agnes Cloherty ofNew York City.[8] They had eight children, includingTom Campbell, who would serve as a Republican in theUnited States House of Representatives in California from 1989 to 1993 and 1995 to 2001 and theCalifornia State Senate from 1993 to 1995.[9]
| Legal offices | ||
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| New seat | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 1940–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 1959–1970 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
