William G. Bassler

William G. Bassler (born March 6, 1938) is a former judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, serving from 1991 until 2006. He is currently an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School^[1] in New York City and works as an arbitrator and mediator in New Jersey and New York City.

Early life and career

Bassler was born in Butler, Pennsylvania. He attended St. Charles College Seminary, Fordham University (B.A. 1960), Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. 1963), New York University School of Law (LL.M. 1969), and University of Virginia Law School (Judicial Process LL.M. 1995). After finishing law school, Bassler clerked for Judge Mark Sullivan of the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.

Since 1964 and until his first judicial appointment in 1988 he was an attorney in private practice at a succession of small New Jersey firms. He was initially an associate and then a partner in the law firm of Parsons, Canzona, Blair & Warren. He then became a name partner in Labrecque, Parsons & Bassler. In 1983, he joined Evans, Koelzer, Osborne, Kreizman & Bassler, and from 1984 until his ascension to the bench he was a partner in Carton, Nary, Witt & Arvanitis. Bassler's practice was primarily civil and confined to New Jersey state courts.

Judicial tenure

Bassler was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court in 1988 by then-governor Thomas Kean (R). Shortly thereafter he was appointed to the federal bench by then-president George H. W. Bush on June 14, 1991. He received a "qualified" recommendation from the American Bar Association. Bassler was confirmed by the Senate on September 12, 1991, and took his commission on September 16, 1991, replacing Stanley Seymour Brotman. Bassler assumed senior status on March 6, 2005 and retired shortly after on August 31, 2006.

Besides penning several hundred judicial opinions from the bench, Bassler also authored published articles on legal topics, including some as a federal judge in the 1990s.

Sources

• William G. Bassler at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Judge Bassler's Website
• Speech by Sen. Lautenberg (D-NJ) in support of the nomination in the U.S. Senate, September 12, 1991.

References