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David Welford Williams
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · 1969
David Welford Williams , Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. David Welford Williams (March 20, 1910 – May 6, 2000) was an American attorney and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the first African-American federal judge west of the Mississippi. He is best known for his work in the abolition of restrictive covenants and for overseeing 4,000 criminal cases that stemmed from the 1965 Watts riots.
Education
- University of California, Los AngelesA.B., 1934
- University of Southern California Law School (now Gould School of Law)LL.B., 1937
Career
Private practice, Los Angeles, California, 1937-1955; Judge, Los Angeles [California] Municipal Court, 1956-1962; Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, 1962-1969; Judge, Los Angeles County [California] Grand Jury, 1965
Biography
David Welford Williams (March 20, 1910 – May 6, 2000) was an American attorney and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the first African-American federal judge west of the Mississippi. He is best known for his work in the abolition of restrictive covenants and for overseeing 4,000 criminal cases that stemmed from the 1965 Watts riots.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
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From Senate roll call votes, Wikidata, Wikipedia and Office of Government Ethics records.
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Capitol Receipts, “David Welford Williams : Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central…,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/appointee/j2594/david-welford-williams (accessed 2026-10-13).