William Thorne, Jr.

William Thorne, Jr. is a Pomo/Coast Miwok Indian from northern California and is enrolled at the Confederated Tribes of the Graton Rancheria. He received his bachelor of arts from the University of Santa Clara in 1974. He received his juris doctorate from Stanford Law School in 1977. Judge Thorne has served as a tribal judge in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan, and California for numerous tribes on a part-time basis for more than thirty years. In 1986 Thorne was appointed by the governor as a trial judge for the state of Utah. After fourteen years as a state trial judge he was appointed in 2000 as a judge of the Utah Court of Appeals. He is now retired. Judge Thorne has served on a number of national and local boards/committees including serving as faculty and using his judicial leadership for child welfare system improvement as he participates in many projects and committees. He continues to speak and teach around the country, chiefly on issues related to children including child welfare reform efforts, disproportionality affecting minority children, and the Indian Child Welfare Act.