William G. Young (Massachusetts)

This article is about William G. Young, the federal judge. If you are looking for information on the Ohio Twelfth District Court of Appeals judge, please see William W. Young.

---

William G. Young

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (senior status)

Tenure

2021 - Present

Years in position

3

Prior offices

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Successor: Julia Kobick

---

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard University, 1962

Law

Harvard Law, 1967

Personal

Birthplace

Huntington, N.Y.

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }

William G. Young (b. 1940) is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He joined the court in 1985 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan (R). At the time of appointment, Young served as an associate justice for the Superior Court of Massachusetts.

Young assumed senior status on July 1, 2021.

Education

A native of New York State, Young graduated from Harvard University with his bachelor's degree in 1962 and with his law degree in 1967. Young also served as a US Army Captain from 1962 to 1964.

Professional career

Young started his legal career as a law clerk for former State Chief Justice Raymond Wilkins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1967 to 1968. Young also spent four years as a private practice attorney licensed in the State of Massachusetts from 1968 to 1972. Also for two years, Young also served as a part-time special assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1974, Young served as the chief counsel to Francis Sargent the former Governor of Massachusetts from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, Young resumed private practice work in the State of Massachusetts until 1978 when Young was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as associate justice for the Superior Court of Massachusetts from 1978 to 1985 when he was appointed to the Federal bench. Also, Young served as a lecturer in law for the Boston College Law School since 1968 and for the Boston University Law School since 1979. Young also served at his alma mater Harvard Law School from 1979 to 1990.

Judicial career

District of Massachusetts

Young was nominated by President Ronald Reagan (R) on March 8, 1985, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. Young was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 3, 1985, on a voice vote and received commission on April 4, 1985. Young served as the chief judge of the court from 1999 to 2005.

Young assumed senior status on July 1, 2021.

Noteworthy cases

Boston hybrid taxis (2009)

See also: United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Ophir v. City Of Boston, Civil Action No. 09-10467-WGY)

On December 11, 2009, Judge Young ruled in favor of the Boston Taxi Owners Association who sued the City of Boston over a new policy requiring taxi owners to switch to hybrids by 2015.

The taxi owners sued on claims that they were bullied by the Boston Police's Hackney Carriage unit to buy the new hybrids. The judge found in his ruling that the new rules instituted by the Boston Police were in violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975.

Young upholds Massachusetts law prohibiting assault weapons

See also: United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ([Url to link Worman v. Healy])

On April 5, 2018, Judge Young issued a ruling that upheld a Massachusetts law prohibiting the possession and transfer of assault weapons. He concluded that the law did not infringe on Second Amendment rights. He cited the United States Supreme Court's 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. In Heller, authored by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, the court ruled that while the Second Amendment barred prohibitions on handguns, "weapons that are most useful in military service -- M-16 rifles and the like [--] are not protected under the Second Amendment and may be banned." Young wrote, "The undisputed facts in this record convincingly demonstrate that the AR-15 and LCMs banned by the Act are 'weapons most useful in military service.'" Based on Heller, Young ruled, "As a matter of law, these weapons...fall outside the scope of the Second Amendment and may be banned."

See also

• United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: NA - new seat	District of Massachusetts 1985–2021 Seat #11	Succeeded by: TBD