William J. "Bill" Zloch (born 1944 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a Senior United States District Judge, as well as a former American football quarterback and wide receiver for the University of Notre Dame.
Following the departure of Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte in 1965, Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian was faced with a wide-open competition for the quarterback position. He opted to move senior Bill Zloch from wide receiver to quarterback for the 1965 season.[1] Directing a team that was heavily run-oriented, Zloch finished the season completing 36 of 88 passes for 558 yards and three touchdowns.[2] The team finished 7-2-1 and ranked 8th nationally.
After graduation, Zloch spent three years in the United States Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant, then returned to Notre Dame Law School, completing a Juris Doctor in 1974. He returned to Fort Lauderdale to begin a private law practice.[3]
On October 9, 1985, President Ronald Reagan nominated Zloch to a newly created seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 1, 1985, and received his commission on November 4, 1985. On July 1, 2000, he began a seven-year term as Chief Judge of the district, ending on June 30, 2007. He was succeeded as Chief Judge by Judge Federico A. Moreno.[4] He assumed senior status on January 31, 2017.
Judge Zloch on August 21, 2009 sentenced UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld to 40 months in prison with 3 years probation and a $30,000 fine, a term that was harsher than the prosecutors wanted. "Assistant U.S. attorney Jeffrey A. Neiman recommended that Birkenfeld get 30 months in prison for his conviction on one count of conspiracy to defraud the government -- down from the 60-month maximum sentence he is exposed to -- because of his extensive cooperation," the Miami Herald reported.[5][6]
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
Adios, Not a nice judge to be in front of. Will not miss him.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who represented individuals accused of federal crimes before Judge Zloch, I wanted to make a couple of observations (based on my personal experience and having heard many Bill Zloch stories):
ReplyDelete1) he treated every defendant as an individual;
2) he listened to the arguments you made as a lawyer (he may not have agreed with you, but he genuinely listened);
3) he genuinely tried to do what he thought was the right thing to do in each case -- he tried to achieve justice in each case
These three observations do not seem exceptional on their face. In fact, one would think that ALL federal judges would do these three basic things -- all the time. But experience teaches us differently.
When you consider that Judge Zloch has done these things. consistently, for so many years, I think he deserves special notice for it. Judge Ferguson was the best judge I ever had the honor to appear before. But since his name is already memorialized in the Miami courthouse, I would hope that whenever a new federal courthouse is built in Fort Lauderdale (and it will not happen before the next rainy season),it will be named in honor of Judge Zloch. He IS Fort Lauderdale.
No comment on Judge Pryor's "put me on the SCOTUS" concurrence in docs v. glocks. Why else would he write pages of dicta? G-d help us all if he is ever elevated.
ReplyDeleteMy comment about Judge Pryor's concurring opinion is that it was extremely well-written and that I generally agree with what he wrote.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, this makes 3 judicial vacancies and 3 judicial emergencies in the Southern District of Florida, with one of the vacancies dating back to June 2014. Any idea when something might get done about this?
ReplyDelete2:52
ReplyDeleteEasy, easy. There are innocent people to deport, environmental and financial regulations to destroy, ethics violations to commit, public school systems to wipe out, treaties to break, wars to start . . . you get the idea. All in due time..
As a former federal prosecutor who appeared in front of Judge Zloch hundreds of times, I concur with "Anonymous" at 9:36 AM. Judge Zloch is an extremely fine jurist, who always evaluated the facts and circumstances of each defendant when sentencing.
ReplyDeleteWhile Judge Zloch has a reputation as being tough to appear in front of, as one who made many mistakes in his courtroom, he never held a grudge. His bark was greater than his bite. On occasion I would apologize for an error, and he would laugh and smile and say "I am sure you will do it again." Judge Zloch was a stickler for details, always ensuring every factual proffer had the jurisdictional element that the crime occurred in the Southern District of Florida, and correcting spelling errors. He never did this to harass, but in my view these were teachable moments. It was his way of saying you are on hallowed ground -- raise your standards.
Judge Zloch had his ear to the street and knew if you were going through hardship, and he and his staff really cared. This is an embodiment of his strong Christian ethos and character, which was embodied in everything he did, from the accouterments in his chambers to the individual attention he gave lawyers and defendants.
My name is Todd Edward Watson. I filed an Emergency writ of habeas corpus subsequent to 17th judicial circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson resentencing me from a 6 year false impr4isonment term to a 30 year false imprisonment term (the day prior to my scheduled release) for the purpose of continuing to conceal the conspiracy of government misconducts in my case.
ReplyDeleteNever in the history of this country has a set of indisputable facts so required the granting of a writ of habeas corpus. It's untenable Judge Levenson did not have subject matter jurisdiction to resentence me and it was a blatant violation of the prohibition of double jeopardy.
It took the 4th DCA two and a half years to rule exactly that thus my release.
I am sure there were times during Judge Zloch's tenure he was a perfect gentleman and appropriately applied the constitution and codes of this great nation to the cases before him. However, in my case there is no doubt that his denial of my writ of habeas corpus opining that my constitutionally protected rights were not violated was an intentional act to obstruct justice.
WHICH IN MY BOOK MAKES HIM A TRAITOR TO HIS COUNTRY AND PROFESSION.