--- title: "William Martin Conley | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-m-conley" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # William Martin Conley U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin - State: Wisconsin - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Wisconsin, 2010-present - Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin; held the role of Chief Judge from March 25, 2010, to April 26, 2017 - From 1984 to 2010, Conley practiced law in Madison, Wisconsin, with Foley & Lardner, rising from associate (1984–1992) to partner (1992–2010) - Law clerk, Hon. Thomas E. Fairchild, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 1982-1984 - American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ### Education - University of Wisconsin Law School in — J.D. (1982) - B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1978 ### Additional information - Long-serving federal judge in Wisconsin, recognized for his legal career and judicial leadership, but also the subject of a major ethics investigation in 2021. - Commission: March 25, 2010. - Confirmation: March 4, 2010, by a unanimous 99–0 Senate vote. - Private practice, Madison, WI, 1984-2010 - Nomination: October 29, 2009, by President Barack Obama to fill the seat vacated by Judge Barbara Brandriff Crabb. - Born May 25, 1956, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. - Date of birth: 1956-01-01 - Conley attended St. Joseph’s elementary school and Rice Lake High School. - His tenure spans over a decade, with a record of notable rulings and a history of private legal practice before his judicial appointment. - He was elected to the Order of the Coif and held the role of articles editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. - Birth place: Rice Lake, WI ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: Each party is to provide the court with the original exhibit list and a copy of each exhibit in electronic form that may be offered for the judge’s use. Please see the attached standing order on electronic exhibits. 3. [Attachments_PPTC_WMC.pdf](https://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Attachments_PPTC_WMC.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392996) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392996) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392996) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/696/william-martin-conley/) - [Attachments_PPTC_WMC.pdf](https://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Attachments_PPTC_WMC.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/696/william-martin-conley/) - [Wikidata: William M. Conley](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8014858) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-m-conley", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-m-conley", "name": "William Martin Conley | KnowJudges", "description": "William Martin Conley, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.