Hon. William F. Dressel
President
The National Judicial College
Reno, NV
dressel@judges.org
Judge Dressel became the President of The National Judicial College in November 2000, and as President of the NJC is has a permanent position on the National Center for Courts and Media Governing Board. He obtained his B.A. from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and his J.D. from University of Denver Law School. From 1966-1978 he was in private practice, in both Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado, specializing in trial practice. In July 1978 he was appointed a judge to the 8th Judicial District, State of Colorado, and retained in 1980, 1986, 1992 and 1998 general elections. Judge Dressel was licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado in April 1966 and has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, 10th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Dressel has been president of the Colorado District Judges’ Association and chair of the Colorado Trial Judges’ Council, which represents both district and county judges in the State of Colorado. From August 1992 to August 1993, Judge Dressel was chair of the National Conference of State Trial Judges, and from 1987 to 1993 was chair of the Court Delay Reduction Committee of the National Conference of State Trial Judges. In 1991 Judge Dressel was appointed by Colorado Chief Justice Rovira to be the Judicial Department’s representative on the Colorado Legislature’s Criminal Justice Commission, and was reappointed for a second term in 1993. He is the principal author of the Trial Management Standards adopted by the American Bar Association House of Delegates in 1992. He has also served as adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver, teaching criminal procedure and trial tactics; a consultant to the National Center for State Courts, the Center for Effective Public Policy, the Justice Management Institute, and a member of the Colorado Judicial Faculty. He served as a member of the faculty of The National Judicial College from 1989-1993, and in June 1993 was appointed to its Board of Trustees, where he served as vice-chair from 1999-2000. He was the 1998 recipient of the Justice Management Institute’s Ernest C. Friesen Award of Excellence, presented in recognition of his vision, leadership, and sustained commitment to the achievement of excellence in the administration of justice.