James Ware (judge) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Ware
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| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California | |
| In office December 31, 2010 – August 31, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Vaughn Walker |
| Succeeded by | Claudia Ann Wilken |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California | |
| In office October 1, 1990 – August 31, 2012 |
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| Appointed by | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Robert Francis Peckham |
| Succeeded by | James Donato |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William James Ware
November 2, 1946 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Education | California Lutheran University (BA) Stanford University (JD) |
William James Ware (born November 2, 1946) is a retired United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
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Early life and education
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Ware received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969 from California Lutheran University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1972. Ware was a United States Army Reserve Second Lieutenant in 1972 and also served in the United States Army as a Military Police Officer in 1973. Ware also served as a United States Army Reserve Captain in the Military Police from 1973 to 1986 after graduating from Stanford Law School.
Career
From 1972 until 1988, Ware worked as an attorney in private practice in Palo Alto, California. From 1988 to 1990, Ware was a judge on the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Ware teaches Civil Procedure at Lincoln Law School of San Jose and Santa Clara University School of Law. Ware is also an instructor of Electronic Evidence and Federal Courts at Golden Gate University School of Law.
Federal judicial service
Ware was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on August 3, 1990, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by Judge Robert Francis Peckham. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 28, 1990, and received commission on October 1, 1990. He served as Chief Judge from 2010 to 2012. His service terminated on August 31, 2012, due to retirement.
Failed nomination to the Ninth Circuit
On June 27, 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated Ware to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, to replace J. Clifford Wallace, who had taken senior status. Ware had a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in October 1997.
However, Ware's nomination unraveled amid an embarrassing scandal that ultimately resulted in a judicial reprimand, and Clinton withdrew his nomination of Ware on November 27, 1997. In 1998, Judge Ware was reprimanded by the Judicial Council of the Northern District Court of California for fabricating the story of being the brother of Virgil Ware, a 13-year-old black boy shot by white teenagers in Alabama in 1963 on the same day as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. According to a story Judge Ware had told many audiences, he was riding his bike with his brother Virgil on the handlebars when Virgil was shot and killed by white racists. The incident was a real one, however it happened to a different James Ware, as was discovered when Judge Ware's claim was published in the Alabama papers after he was nominated to the Ninth Circuit by President Bill Clinton. The father of the long-ago slain boy contacted the Alabama courts to report that the California judge was impersonating his own son James Ware who was an employee in a Birmingham power plant. The Alabama courts contacted the California courts, who convened the ethics hearing. Judge Ware was reprimanded but allowed to retain his lifetime appointment as district judge.
Notable cases
Ware is known for hearing a number of Internet business-related cases such as RealNetworks vs. Microsoft suit. In 2006, he heard the Google search terms suit. In September 2009, in Rocky Mountain Bank v. Google Inc., he ruled that Google must provide the identity and contact information for a Gmail user that was mistakenly sent confidential information by the Rocky Mountain Bank. He also ordered Google to deactivate the Gmail account.
In 2001, Ware sentenced hacker Max Butler to 18 months in prison for infiltrating United States Department of Defense computers.
See also
