{ "id": "ep0qp2tsyz", "slug": "willis-b-hunt-jr", "title": "Willis B. Hunt, Jr.", "updated": "2026-09-29", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law" }, { "id": "society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3", "label": "Article III judges (district and appellate)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges", "label": "United States district court judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges" }, { "id": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "label": "Surnames H", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Surnames H", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law", "label": "Law and justice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice", "label": "Courts and legal practice", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people", "label": "Legal biographies", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us", "label": "United States judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal", "label": "US federal judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges", "label": "United States district court judges", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "label": "Surnames H", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Willis B. Hunt, Jr. (born 1932) is an American jurist, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia since 2005.", "snippet": "Willis B. Hunt, Jr. (born 1932) is an American jurist, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia since 2005.", "node": "society.law.practice.people.people.judges.us.federal.article3.district-judges.alpha-h", "markdown": "# Willis B. Hunt, Jr.\n\nWillis B. Hunt, Jr. (born 1932) is an American jurist and a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, having assumed senior status on June 30, 2005.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) He was appointed to the court by President William J. Clinton in 1995.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) Before his federal service, he served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1986 to 1995.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n| --- | --- |\n| Court | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) |\n| Appointed by | William J. Clinton[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) |\n| Confirmed | March 24, 1995 (voice vote)[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) |\n| Senior status | June 30, 2005[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) |\n| Born | 1932, Malden, Massachusetts[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) |\n| Education | LL.B., Emory University School of Law, 1954; LL.M., University of Virginia School of Law, 1990[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) |\n\n## Early life and education\n\nHunt was born in 1932 in Malden, Massachusetts.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) He received his LL.B. from Emory University School of Law in 1954.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) Later in his career, he earned an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566)\n\n## Legal career\n\nHunt served in the [United States Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army) from 1955 to 1957.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) He then worked as a special agent for the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](https://www.edgepedia.org/federal-bureau-of-investigation) from 1957 to 1959.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566)\n\nAfter leaving the FBI, Hunt entered private practice, first in [Clearwater, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/clearwater-florida), from 1959 to 1960, and then in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1960 to 1967.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) He continued in private practice in Perry and [Warner Robins, Georgia](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-robins-georgia), from 1967 to 1971.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566)\n\nIn 1971, Hunt became a judge on the Houston County Superior Court in Georgia, serving from 1971 to 1986.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) He was then elected as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, joining the court in 1986 and serving until 1995.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) During his tenure on the state supreme court, he authored 192 published opinions, along with 47 dissents and 48 concurrences, according to one database of the court's decisions; his most-cited opinion in that database was his 1991 concurrence in *Scruggs v. Georgia Department of Human Resources*.[2](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-b-hunt-jr)\n\n## Federal judicial service\n\nPresident William J. Clinton nominated Hunt to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on January 23, 1995.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) The Senate confirmed him by voice vote on March 24, 1995, and he received his commission the same day.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566) He succeeded Judge Horace Taliaferro Ward on the court.[3](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-hunt-jr) Hunt assumed senior status on June 30, 2005.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566)\n\n## Notable cases\n\nAccording to a database of federal district court records, Hunt was assigned 4,839 district court cases, with a median time from filing to termination of 222 days across closed cases.[3](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-hunt-jr) The same database records that of 89 of his decisions reviewed on the merits by the federal appellate courts, 72 were affirmed, 15 were reversed or vacated, and 2 were affirmed in part and reversed in part.[3](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-hunt-jr)\n\nHunt authored 30 published opinions for the district court between 1996 and 2008, according to the same database.[3](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-hunt-jr) His most-cited opinion in that database was *Bute v. Schuller International Inc.*, which received 41 inbound citations.[3](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-hunt-jr)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges: Willis B. Hunt, Jr.](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382566)\n2. [Willis B. Hunt Jr.: Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-b-hunt-jr)\n3. [Willis B. Hunt Jr.: Judge, Northern District of Georgia](https://judicialfinder.com/judges/willis-hunt-jr)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › United States judges › US federal judges › Article III judges (district and appellate) › United States district court judges › Surnames H*\n\n*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Sep 28, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Willis B. Hunt, Jr.\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Willis B. Hunt, Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr](https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Willis B. Hunt, Jr.\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/willis-b-hunt-jr. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Willis B. Hunt, Jr. is an American jurist, a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia since 2005." }