U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Karen Williams of Orangeburg confirmed Thursday the illness that prompted her retirement is early-onset Alzheimer’s disease

The 57-year-old Williams granted an interview to T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton on Thursday, a day after sending a letter to President Barack Obama announcing her retirement.

Williams also released a statement on Thursday saying the illness reported by The Times and Democrat on Thursday is Alzheimer’s.

According to the statement, Williams says she can still perform her duties but worried the nature of the disease would cause her future decisions to come into question.

During the interview with Gleaton, Williams discussed what the diagnosis means to her, as well as her nearly two decades as a federal judge.

Gleaton’s report also includes reaction from those who have worked with Williams, including fellow 4th Circuit judges Dennis Shedd, a Cordova native, and J. Harvie Wilkinson, III.

Williams’ retirement was effective Wednesday, with Judge Williams Traxler Jr. now serving as chief judge. The court now has five vacancies.

For more on Gleaton’s interview, see Friday’s T&D and follow the story also at TheTandD.com

Following is the story from Thursday’s T&D and earlier at TheTand D.com

Federal judge retires from bench due to illness

U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Karen J. Williams of Orangeburg retired from her post Wednesday, citing illness in her decision to step down.

The T&D learned late Wednesday that the 57-year-old Williams sent a letter to the White House earlier in the day announcing her retirement.

She could not be reached, but her husband, attorney Charles Williams, confirmed Wednesday night the resignation was tendered.

Williams was listed among leading candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 after Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and William Rehnquist retired.

Following the recommendation of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, President George H.W. Bush nominated Williams to the bench. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1992, becoming the first female appellate judge on the 4th Circuit.

The court hears appeals from the federal district courts in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Although the court’s rulings may be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, in most instances its opinions provide the binding legal precedent for those states.

Williams has served as the circuit’s chief judge since July 2007, and is responsible for the administration of the circuit as well as handling a full caseload. Judge William B. Traxler Jr. of Greenville is in line to assume that role.

Williams is known on the bench for her conservative viewpoint, Southern gentility and crisp, clean writing style. Although the judges sit in Richmond, Va., to hear oral arguments, Williams has never forgotten her Orangeburg County roots, maintaining an office in the Garden City, where she conducts court preparation and authors judicial opinions. In fact, the story goes that she often reminds her clerks about wanting opinions written so the average Orangeburg resident – not just the average lawyer – can understand them.

Her notable cases include United States vs. Dickerson, in which Williams wrote that the so-called “Miranda warnings” administered by police are not required by the Constitution, a decision the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned.

More recently, Williams wrote that inclusion of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the Constitution and sided with a majority of the court in concluding the president has the authority to militarily detain members of al-Qaeda captured on American soil.

The 4th Circuit has been widely held in legal circles as the most conservative court in the country. But several positions once held by conservative judges have remained unfilled, and President Barack Obama could well aim to reshape the court’s ideology with his appointments.

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