Quick facts
Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Position circuit
Status Deceased
Served 1970–2013
Appointed by Richard Nixon (Republican)
Commissioned 1970-10-14
Education University of Denver, A.B., 1938; University of Denver (Sturm College of Law), LL.B., 1941
Signed orders read 28
Last updated 2026-07-13
Motion outcomes
AppealN = 28
21% granted
5 1 22
Counted from classified signed orders. A “1 of 1” is one ruling, not a tendency.
About this data
A free Ezel research resource. This profile is built from public records: the judge's own signed orders, public docket records, and published biographies. It is not legal advice and is not affiliated with the court.
How Judge McWilliams decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Will adopt a well-reasoned out-of-circuit decision as the correct analysis of an open question rather than writing on a blank slate.
“In our view, the correct analysis of the present issue is set forth in Webber v. Credithrift of America, Inc., 674 F.2d 796 (9th Cir.1982)”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
United States v. Household Finance Co.
· 1983-05-16
Appeal (appellant-United-States)
Granted
“Judgment reversed and cases remanded for further proceedings consonant with this opinion.”
United States v. Perry
· 1983-06-10
Appeal (defendant-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
Rustad v. United States Air Force
· 1983-09-28
Appeal (plaintiff-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
Dennison v. Topeka Chambers Industrial Development Corp.
· 1984-01-04
Appeal (plaintiff-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
Zahourek v. Arthur Young and Co.
· 1984-12-19
Appeal (plaintiff-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
Schaeffer v. Wagner
· 1985-06-19
Appeal (plaintiff-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
Smith v. United States
· 1987-04-30
Appeal (plaintiff-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
United States v. Daniels
· 1988-09-23
Appeal (defendant-appellant)
Denied
“JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.”
Asarco, Inc. v. Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
· 1989-03-03
Appeal (petitioner-appellant)
Denied
“Decision affirmed.”
United States v. Hunt
· 1989-06-12
Appeal (defendant-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
Ebert v. Lamar Truck Plaza
· 1989-06-23
Appeal (plaintiff-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
United States v. Morrow
· 1991-04-02
Appeal (defendant-appellant)
Denied
“Judgment affirmed.”
A historical record
Judge McWilliams no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.