Willis William Ritter

Willis William Ritter (January 24, 1899 – March 4, 1978) was a United States federal judge.

Ritter was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in Midway and Park City. He received an A.B. from the University of Utah, and an LL.B. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1924. He was in private practice in Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. from 1924 to 1926. He was a professor of law at the University of Utah from 1926 to 1950, and in private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah from 1935 to 1949, also receiving an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1940.

On October 21, 1949, Ritter received a recess appointment from President Harry S. Truman to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Utah vacated by Tillman D. Johnson. He was formally nominated on January 5, 1950, and opposed during the confirmation process by Utah Senator Arthur Watkins. Ritter was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 29, 1950, and received his commission on July 7, 1950. He served as chief judge from 1954 until his death, in 1978, in Salt Lake City.

Sources

• Willis William Ritter at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Further reading

• Cowley, Patricia F. and Parker M. Nielson. Thunder Over Zion:The Life of Chief Judge Willis W. Ritter. 2007. ISBN 978-0-87480-876-6