The Third Branch
Obituaries
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Judge William J. Duffy |
Judge William J. Duffy
Brown County Circuit Court
Former Brown County Circuit Court Judge William J. Duffy passed away on Feb. 25. He was 96. Duffy was first elected to the circuit court in 1968, and served until his retirement in 1992. He continued to serve as a reserve judge after he retired.
A graduate of St. Norbert College and UW Law School, Duffy served as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was stationed in the South Pacific during World War II, according to an obituary. After the war, he worked in private practice in Green Bay. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1948, and served until 1951.
While on the bench, Duffy served as chief judge for the Eighth Judicial District. He also served on the faculty at UW-Green Bay from 1970-75, teaching labor law, and was the first president of the Green Bay Voluntary Commission on Human Rights and a member of the Governor's Commission on Human Rights.
"He was a man of great integrity and probably one of the kindest and gentlest human beings I have ever had the privilege of knowing," Chief Judge Donald R. Zuidmulder, Brown County Circuit Court, told the Green Bay Press Gazette. "He was especially attuned to the average man and woman, and he went out of his way to be sure his courtroom was the people's court. I learned much from him, and as a judge, I hope to live up to his standard."
Duffy is survived by his five children and 10 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth.