Judge William J. Zloch

By John R. Byrne

We're moving into the modern era of our portrait post series. Up this week is Judge William J. Zloch. 

I never tried a case before Judge Zloch but, when I was a prosecutor, I had a couple of cases in front of him where the defendants pled guilty. I remember him asking the defendants, "Why did you do it?" or some variation on that question. That led to some interesting moments and some close calls on getting through the colloquy! 

FBA write up below. 

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Judge William J. Zloch was nominated to the district court by President Reagan in 1985 and continues to serve as a senior judge in the district. A South Florida native, Judge Zloch attended the University of Notre Dame, where he had a successful football career, playing both as a wide receiver and quarterback. After college, Judge Zloch served in the U.S. Navy for three years, before returning to Notre Dame for law school. He then worked in private practice in Fort Lauderdale until his judicial appointment. From 2000 to 2007, Judge Zloch served as the chief judge of our district. He presided over several notable cases, including a 2016 class-action claim against the Democratic National Committee that the Committee had worked to tip the scales in primary elections in favor of certain candidates. Wilding, et al. v. DNC Servs. Corp., 2017 WL 6345492 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 25, 2017).