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William S. Pocan Jr. (born 1961) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as deputy chief judge of the 1st district of Wisconsin circuit courts. He has served as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County since 2006. In 2021, he was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden to serve as a United States district judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, but his nomination expired without a hearing at the end of the 117th Congress.

Early life and education

William Pocan was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He attended Mary D. Bradford High School and graduated early, entering college at age 16. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin–Parkside in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1984.

Career

Pocan began his legal career at Brookhouse & Brookhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he worked from 1984 to 1985. From 1985 to 2006, he was an associate at Jastroch & LaBarge. In 2006, Pocan was appointed a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County by Governor Jim Doyle. Pocan was subsequently elected to a full six-year term on the court in 2007, and was then re-elected twice without opposition. He was appointed deputy chief judge of the first district of Wisconsin circuit courts (Milwaukee County) in 2020. At various times, Pocan presided over juvenile, civil, and felony division cases.

Nominations to district court

In 2014, Pocan was one of three finalists recommended to President Barack Obama by the bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission to fill a vacancy on the federal district court bench, but Pamela Pepper received the nomination instead.

On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Pocan to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Pocan was one of four finalists recommended to the president earlier in 2021 by the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission. Biden nominated Pocan to the seat vacated by Judge William C. Griesbach, who took senior status on December 31, 2019.

On February 15, 2022, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson announced he would withhold his blue slip, effectively blocking Pocan from receiving a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, despite having previously recommended Pocan in a letter to the White House on June 22, 2021. On January 3, 2023, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.

Personal life

Pocan's father, William S. Pocan Sr., was an alderman on the Kenosha city council during the 1970s and 1980s.

Pocan's younger brother, Mark Pocan, is a member of the United States House of Representatives for Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district. Both Pocan brothers are gay.

Electoral history

Wisconsin circuit court (2007, 2013, 2019)

See also

• Joe Biden judicial appointment controversies
• List of LGBT jurists in the United States

References

1. "Kenosha high schools' grads". Kenosha News. June 8, 1978. p. 10. Retrieved January 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Pocan wins Milwaukee race" (PDF). The Third Branch. 15 (2). Wisconsin Court System: 27. Spring 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
3. "President Biden Names Eleventh Round of Judicial Nominees". The White House. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
4. Voruganti, Harsh (13 January 2022). "Judge William Pocan – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin". The Vetting Room. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
5. "Governor picks new judge". Kenosha News. July 1, 2006. p. 20. Retrieved January 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "William Pocan". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
7. ^ Jeramey Jannene, Biden Appoints Milwaukee Judge William Pocan to Federal Bench, Urban Milwaukee (December 17, 2021).
8. ^ Worland, Gayle (February 15, 2014). "Three nominees for Eastern District Court judgeship named". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
9. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
10. Glauber, Bill (February 16, 2022). "Ron Johnson moves to block William Pocan nomination to federal court". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
11. Alder, Madison (February 16, 2022). "GOP Senator Opposes District Pick, Setting Up Test of Norm (2)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
12. "PN1483 — William S. Pocan — The Judiciary". January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
13. Pocan, William S. Jr. (April 12, 1980). "Nothing could be further from the truth". Kenosha News. p. 5. Retrieved January 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Gilbert, Craig. "Baldwin and Johnson bring forward four candidates to fill federal judgeship in Green Bay". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
15. "Congressional Wisdom: An interview with Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan". Metro Weekly. 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
16. Jannene, Jeramey. "Biden Appoints Milwaukee Judge William Pocan to Federal Bench". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
17. Results of Spring General Election - 04/03/2007 (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. April 23, 2007. p. 8. Retrieved January 15, 2023 – via Wisconsin Historical Society.
18. Canvass Results for 2013 Spring Election - 4/2/2013 (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. May 8, 2013. p. 5. Retrieved January 15, 2023 – via Wisconsin Elections Commission.
19. Canvass Results for 2019 Spring Election - 4/2/2019 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. April 22, 2019. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2023.

• Living people
• 1961 births
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 21st-century American judges
• 21st-century American lawyers
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• American gay men
• LGBTQ appointed officials in the United States
• LGBTQ judges
• American LGBTQ lawyers
• LGBTQ people from Wisconsin
• Lawyers from Milwaukee
• People from Kenosha, Wisconsin
• Mary D. Bradford High School alumni
• University of Wisconsin–Parkside alumni
• University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
• Wisconsin circuit court judges