William Homer Timbers

William Homer Timbers was a United States circuit judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1971 until his death in 1994. Prior to his appellate service, he served as a United States district judge for the District of Connecticut from 1960 to 1971, including a tenure as chief judge. Before ascending to the federal bench, Timbers had a distinguished career in private practice and government service, including serving as general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Beyond his judicial work, he was notably active in the dog breeding community and served as chairman of the board of the American Kennel Club.

Early life and legal career

Born on September 5, 1915, in Yonkers, New York, Timbers spent his formative years in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He pursued his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, where he excelled academically, graduating magna cum laude and earning membership in Phi Beta Kappa in 1937. His academic achievements earned him selection as a Rhodes Scholar, a prestigious honor recognizing exceptional intellectual ability and leadership potential. He continued his legal education at Yale Law School, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1940.

Following his graduation from Yale, Timbers entered private practice in New York City, joining the firm of Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Sutherland & Kiendl, where he worked from 1940 to 1948. After eight years in New York, he relocated to Connecticut, becoming a partner at Cummings & Lockwood in Stamford from 1948 to 1953. His career then took a turn toward public service when he was appointed general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1953, a position he held until 1956. This role placed him at the center of federal securities regulation during an important period of American financial oversight.

In 1956, Timbers returned to private practice in New York City, joining the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate & Timbers, which would later become known as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, one of the nation's most prominent law firms. He remained a partner at the firm until his appointment to the federal judiciary in 1960. During this period, Timbers also became active in civic and political affairs in Darien, Connecticut, where he resided. He served as chairman of the Republican Town Committee in Darien and was selected as a delegate to the 1956 Republican National Convention held in San Francisco, California. He also contributed to local government by serving as a member of the Darien Board of Finance.

Timbers was initially nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on August 27, 1959, but this nomination did not receive a vote in the Senate. He was subsequently renominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 11, 1960, to fill a vacancy created by the departure of Judge J. Joseph Smith. The Senate confirmed his appointment on September 1, 1960, and he received his commission the following day, September 2, 1960. He served as a district judge for over a decade, assuming the role of chief judge of the District of Connecticut in 1964, a position he held until 1971.

Federal appellate service

President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican, nominated Timbers to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on May 13, 1971, to fill a seat that had been vacated by Judge Robert P. Anderson. The Senate confirmed his nomination on July 29, 1971, and he received his commission the same day. His service on the district court terminated on August 6, 1971, upon his elevation to the appellate bench. Timbers served as an active circuit judge for a decade before assuming senior status on July 10, 1981, a form of semi-retirement that allows federal judges to continue hearing cases with a reduced caseload. He remained active in this capacity until the summer of 1993, when he took inactive senior status. His judicial service concluded with his death on November 26, 1994.

During his time on the Second Circuit, Timbers participated in numerous significant cases that addressed constitutional questions and matters of federal law. While serving as a district judge in 1967, he issued a ruling striking down the Lindbergh kidnapping law, finding it to be an unconstitutional infringement on the right to trial by jury. His reasoning was that the statute created an improper incentive structure: defendants who chose to exercise their right to a jury trial faced a greater likelihood of receiving a death sentence compared to those who opted for a bench trial or entered a guilty plea.

In 1990, Timbers joined a majority opinion authored by Judge Frank Altimari that addressed the intersection of public order and constitutional rights in the context of the New York City Subway system. The panel held that transit authorities could prohibit panhandling in the subway, concluding that begging did not constitute expressive conduct entitled to protection under the First Amendment. Judge Thomas J. Meskill concurred in part and dissented in part from this decision.

Two years later, in 1992, Timbers authored a majority opinion in an international extradition matter involving a former member of the Irish Republican Army. Writing for a panel that decided the case by a vote of two to one, Timbers upheld a district court ruling that blocked the extradition of Peter McMullen to Britain. The court determined that the 1986 Supplementary Extradition Treaty between the United States and Britain improperly singled out McMullen and two other individuals for punishment, rendering the extradition request unlawful.

Timbers also wrote a notable dissent in 1986 when the Second Circuit, in a two-to-one decision with the majority opinion written by Judge Jon O. Newman, struck down provisions of the Bail Reform Act of 1984. The majority found that the Act's allowance for preventive pretrial detention violated the Fifth Amendment and Eighth Amendment. In his dissenting opinion, Timbers argued that Congress had acted appropriately in authorizing pretrial detention in circumstances where such detention provided necessary protection against defendants who were found to pose a danger to the community.

Beyond his judicial opinions, Timbers played a role in the judicial selection process. He supported the nomination of Connecticut Governor Thomas J. Meskill to the Second Circuit, working alongside Senator Lowell Weicker despite opposition from the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Timbers wrote a letter to President Gerald Ford advocating for Meskill's appointment, and Meskill was ultimately confirmed and would later serve as a colleague on the Second Circuit.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Timbers's judicial philosophy and approach to the law reflected his extensive experience in both private practice and government service. His work on the Second Circuit spanned a period of significant development in federal law, and he contributed to the court's jurisprudence across a range of areas including constitutional criminal procedure, First Amendment doctrine, and international law. His opinions demonstrated careful attention to statutory interpretation and constitutional analysis, as evidenced by his willingness both to author majority opinions and to dissent when he disagreed with his colleagues' reasoning.

Outside his judicial duties, Timbers maintained a lifelong passion for dog breeding and exhibition, particularly of Norwegian elkhounds. He became involved with the breed beginning in 1958 and devoted considerable time and energy to breeding, raising, and showing these dogs. His expertise and dedication to the canine community led to leadership positions in several organizations. He served as president of both the Ox Ridge Club and the Norwegian Elkhound Association of America, demonstrating his commitment to promoting and preserving the breed.

Timbers's involvement with the American Kennel Club represented a significant parallel career to his judicial service. He served as chairman of the AKC New York Trial Board from 1965 to 1968, a position that involved adjudicating disputes within the dog show community. He subsequently served as a director of the American Kennel Club for fourteen years before being elected chairman of the AKC board in 1982. This leadership role in one of the nation's premier canine organizations reflected the high regard in which he was held by the dog breeding and showing community.

Timbers was also active in his local religious community, serving as an elder and trustee of the Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Connecticut, where he maintained his residence throughout his judicial career. He died on November 26, 1994, in Suffield, Connecticut, at the age of seventy-nine, from kidney failure. He was survived by his wife, Charlotte MacLachlan Timbers, and four children. His career represented a combination of distinguished public service on the federal bench and meaningful contributions to civic and community organizations beyond the courtroom.