William H. Steele

William Howard Steele (born 1951) is an American attorney and judge. He is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Steele was born in 1951 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972, Steele served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an officer, pilot, and instructor pilot. During his service in the Marine Corps, Steele participated in the operation to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon in 1976. He later served in the Alabama National Guard as a pilot and as commanding officer of an assault helicopter company.

After his service in the Marine Corps, Steele attended the University of Alabama School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor. After law school, he was employed for six years as assistant and chief assistant district attorney in Mobile, Alabama. In that capacity, he litigated over 100 jury trials, and co-founded the Child Advocacy Center, an agency devoted to identifying and providing assistance to child victims of physical and sexual violence. In 1987, he was hired as an Assistant United States Attorney by U.S. Attorney and future U.S. Senator, Jeff Sessions. He held that position for two years before engaging in the private practice of law.

In 1990, he was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Alabama, and served in that capacity for 13 years. In 2003, after being nominated by President Bush, and confirmed by the Senate, Steele was appointed to the position of U.S. district judge. He served as Chief Judge from 2010 to 2017. He will take senior status on June 8, 2017.

• William H. Steele at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.