William Brevard Hand

William Brevard Hand
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
In office
January 19, 1989 – September 6, 2008
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
In office
1981–1989
Preceded by Thomas Virgil Pittman
Succeeded by Alex T. Howard Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
In office
September 22, 1971 – January 19, 1989
Appointed by Richard Nixon
Preceded by Daniel Holcombe Thomas
Succeeded by Richard W. Vollmer Jr.
Personal details
Born William Brevard Hand
(1924-01-18)January 18, 1924
Mobile, Alabama
Died September 6, 2008(2008-09-06) (aged 84)
Mobile, Alabama
Political party Republican
Education University of Alabama (B.S.)
University of Alabama School of Law (LL.B.)

William Brevard Hand (January 18, 1924 – September 6, 2008) was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Education and career

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Hand served from 1943 to 1946 in the United States Army during World War II. In 1947, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. In 1949, he was received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alabama School of Law. He was in private practice in Mobile from 1949 to 1971. Hand became involved in the Republican Party by 1962, when he supported James D. Martin of Gadsden for the United States Senate against the veteran Democrat J. Lister Hill of Montgomery.[1]

Federal judicial service

On July 26, 1971, Hand was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Daniel Holcombe Thomas. Hand was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 21, 1971, and received his commission on September 22, 1971. He served as Chief Judge from 1981 to 1989 and assumed senior status on January 19, 1989, serving in that status until his death on September 6, 2008, in Mobile.[1]

Notable case

Hand received national attention when he ruled for the plaintiffs in a case against the Alabama school board claiming that textbooks used in Alabama promoted secular humanism, and as such were in violation of the Establishment clause. In his 172-page ruling, he ordered the removal of forty-four texts across the state in subjects such as history and social studies.[2][3] The case was brought in Hand's district after his opinions regarding a 1982 school prayer ruling in Alabama. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously reversed him, with Judge Frank stating that Hand held a "misconception of the relationship between church and state mandated by the establishment clause," commenting also that the textbooks did not show "an attitude antagonistic to theistic belief. The message conveyed by these textbooks is one of neutrality: the textbooks neither endorse theistic religion as a system of belief, nor discredit it."[4]

References

  1. 1 2 William Brevard Hand at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ↑ ABOUT EDUCATION; A MATTER OF CENSORSHIP, New York Times, 10 March 1987
  3. ↑ Federal Court Finds Secular Humanism a Religion, Education Week, 11 March 1987
  4. ↑ Ivers, Greg (1992). Redefining the First Freedom: The Supreme Court and the Consolidation of State Power, 1980-1990. Transaction Books. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1560000549.

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded by
Daniel Holcombe Thomas		 Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
1971–1989		 Succeeded by
Richard W. Vollmer Jr.
Preceded by
Thomas Virgil Pittman		 Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
1981–1989		 Succeeded by
Alex T. Howard Jr.
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