Fellows in Residence
The Honorable William W. Wilkins
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Public address: “Legal, Political and Social Implications of the Death Penalty”
Younts Conference Center at Furman University
October 11, 2006
The Riley Institute at Furman hosted The Honorable William W. Wilkins, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday, October 11, 2006. Judge Wilkins delivered an address on the “Legal, Political and Social Implications of the Death Penalty” on Furman’s campus in the Younts Conference Center. Over 300 students and members of the community attended this event.
About Judge Wilkins
Wilkins, a native of Greenville, is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He was editor-in-chief of the South Carolina Law Review, captain of the South Carolina National Moot Court Team, and a member of the Order of Wig and Robe. During his senior year in law school, he was selected as the Outstanding Graduate of the Year. After serving in the U.S. Army, Wilkins was a clerk for former Chief Judge Clement F. Haynsworth and served as a legislative assistant to Senator Strom Thurmond. He was elected Solicitor for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in 1974, and was later appointed United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina by President Reagan.
In October 1985, President Reagan appointed Wilkins the first Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, a position he held until October 1994. In addition to his duties on the Sentencing Commission, he continued to serve as a federal judge, and in June 1986, he was appointed United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1999, Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Wilkins Chair of the Committee on Criminal Law for the federal judiciary. In 2003, he was elevated to the position of Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.