William P. Greene Jr.


William Parnell Greene Jr. is a former Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Greene was appointed by President Bill Clinton to a fifteen-year term as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims on November 7, 1997. He assumed the responsibilities of the Chief Judge of the Court on August 8, 2005, holding that position until August 6, 2010. At the time of his nomination and appointment to the Court, Judge Greene was serving as a United States Immigration Judge. From June 13, 1993, until November 22, 1997, he presided over immigration cases in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Born in Bluefield, West Virginia, Greene received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from West Virginia State College in 1965, and a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law in 1968. Following graduation from law school and admission to the West Virginia Bar, he was appointed a commissioned officer in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. During his career as a Judge Advocate, he completed his military education at the Basic, Advanced, and Military Judges' courses at The Judge Advocate General's School, Charlottesville, Virginia; the Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Before becoming an Immigration Judge, Judge Greene held numerous positions in the United States Army. He served as the Chief Prosecutor at Fort Knox, Kentucky, followed by duty as the Chief Defense Counsel in the Army Command in Hawaii. He was the Army's chief recruiter for lawyers from 1974 to 1977 and in 1981, the Judge Advocate General of the Army selected him as the Department Chair of the Criminal Law Division at The Judge Advocate General's School. He also served in Germany as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of the Third Infantry Division and in Korea as the Staff Judge Advocate of the Second Infantry Division. Following his graduation from the U.S. Army War College in 1986, he was selected to serve as the Staff Judge Advocate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. That assignment was followed by another selection as Staff Judge Advocate at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with duties that also included legal oversight of the Armed Forces' maximum security prison. While serving in this last position, he was selected and appointed by the Attorney General of the United States as a United States Immigration Judge. He retired as a Colonel from the United States Army in 1993 to accept that appointment. During his Army service, he received several awards including three awards of the Legion of Merit. On October 7, 1997, the Secretary of the Army designated Judge Greene as Honorary Colonel of the Judge Advocate General's Corps Regiment. In October 2000, Judge Greene was recognized as a Distinguished Member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps Regiment. Additionally, in May 2008 Chief Judge Greene was the recipient of the Chief Justice John Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Judge Advocates Association.
Greene is married to the former Madeline Sinkford, also of Bluefield, West Virginia. They have two sons: William Robert, a major customer manager for Dun and Bradstreet, and Jeffery, an officer and physician in the United States Army Medical Corps.

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