Monday, July 8, 2002
Page 3
U.S. District Judge Enright to Be Honored by American Inns of Court
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Senior U.S. District Court Judge William B. Enright of the Southern District of California has been selected as the Ninth Circuit recipient of the American Inns of Court Circuit Professionalism Award.
Enright, who took on senior status in 1990, was nominated for the award by Chief District Judge Marilyn L. Huff of the Southern District, who gathered letters of support from dozens of lawyers.
“Collectively, the letters illustrate the broad and lasting impact that this model of excellence has had on our profession,” Huff wrote of Enright.
The award recognizes “a senior practicing lawyer whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.”
Enright will receive his award during the opening session of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference at the Coronado Bay Hotel in San Diego July 15. Chief Judge Mary Schroeder and Circuit Judge Clifford Wallace of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will present the award.
Enright was selected for the honor by a national circuit awards committee of the American Inns of Court Foundation. He will receive an engraved crystal vase and a leather presentation folding containing both a decree and an engraved copy of the Professional Creed of the American Inns of Court.
Enright served as the first president of the Louis M. Welsh Chapter of the American Inns of Court in San Diego from 1984 to 1989, when he was awarded the special title of chancellor. A federal court Inn chapter was named in Enright’s name in 1991.
In addition to the presentation in San Diego, Enright has been invited to attend the Celebration of Excellence at the United States Supreme Court, an annual dinner held in October and hosted by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist to honor recipients of leadership awards.
Since his appointment to the federal bench in 1972, Enright has served as a member of the Multi-District Litigation Panel; U.S. Judicial Conference committee studying the jury system and magistrates; the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council; and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He is also a past chair of the Ninth Circuit’s Capital Case Committee and the Jury Management and Utilization Committee.
Before being appointed to the bench, Enright was a fellow of the American College of Trial lawyers. He also served as a member of the California Judicial Council, as vice-president of the State Bar and as president of San Diego County Bar Association.
A Navy veteran of World War II, Enright and his wife, Bette, have three children, including San Diego Superior Court Judge Kevin A. Enright.
Born in New York, New York on July 12, 1925, Enright completed his undergraduate work at Dartmouth College and he earned his law degree from Loyola University School of Law.
Previous recipients of the Circuit Professionalism Award include Shirley Hufstedler, the first woman to sit on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and former education secretary under President Jimmy Carter, and the late Judge William A. Ingram of the Northern District of California.
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company