Profile in Leadership: The Honorable William P. Johnson '81

The Honorable William Paul Johnson '81, or better known by his brother rats as Chip, is the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court in New Mexico. Johnson has been a district judge for more than twenty years. As an Article III judge, he has a lifetime appointment. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on September 4, 2001 and was ultimately confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 2001. He received his judicial commission on December 21, 2001, and he became chief judge of the District of New Mexico on February 7, 2018. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Chip descends from "true" Virginian stock. His father, Johnny, was a member of the VMI class of 1955, his uncle was class of 1952, and his younger brother was class of 1987. Johnny Johnson owned and operated a core drilling and grouting construction Company which took both father and son all across the east coast. As a young man, Chip Johnson never shied away from manual labor or hard work. From a young age he embodied the self-reliance of Ralph Waldo Emerson and lived truly as his own man. Chip thrived in the Boyscouts, achieving the prized rank of Eagle Scout and notably attended the High Adventure Scout Ranch in Philmont in New Mexico. Philmont, located near Cimarron, is an enormous scout reserve with almost 150,000 acres of New Mexican desert, mountain and grassland. Although each experience differs, scouts spend weeks backpacking over hundreds of miles of wild terrain. In the morning, one might wake up on a mountain, and by nightfall, be seemingly a world away in a rolling sage valley. Night, if one has the energy to keep their eyes open, presents the stars of the Milky Way in a vibrancy that those on the east coast will simply never experience. You have never seen the night sky until you have been to Philmont. It was only natural that Chip would end up at VMI, and Chip was described as a "no frills" cadet. His common sense is remarkable and as a cadet, was always quick to help a brother rat in need. On post he was the vice president of the Honor Court and the Echo Company Commander, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics (with distinction) in 1981. Following graduation and his commissioning, Johnson stayed on post for several months as an admissions counselor; until he was ordered to report to artillery officers basic course in Fort Sill Oklahoma. Johnson served as an officer in the United States Army Reserves until he was honorably discharged as a Captain in 1990. Following his training in Oklahoma, Johnson took a hop, skip, and a jump next door to the Washington and Lee School of Law. While most aspiring attorneys, freshly liberated from the barracks of VMI, would seek more hospitable living accommodations, Johnson chose to rent a small one room cabin, heated only by wood stove with his brother rat Scot Marsh. To keep warm, Marsh stated, "Chip could handle the chainsaw as well as anyone I've ever met; he was not afraid of hard work." Johnson earned his Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee in 1985. Immediately thereafter he borrowed money and purchased a brand new Ford half-ton pickup truck. He promptly loaded up his personal belongings and drove to Texas where he practiced law for a year until eventually finding himself back in New Mexico. It is only sensible that the state which Johnson fell in love with as a scout brought him back permanently. Johnson has held an illustrious legal career in the state of New Mexico, and his federal district has one of the largest criminal case dockets in the nation. Drug trafficking, drug-related crimes, human trafficking, and immigration issues on the southern border are all endemic to the area around Albequerque. Although the judge has never met Saul Goodman, Esq. in person, he certainly has handled the same type of defendants. Currently as Chief Judge, Johnson leads and oversees three federal courthouses with nine Article III federal judges with lifetime tenure, ten federal magistrate judges, and hundreds of staff personnel. All of these people support three federal courthouses spread over 300+ miles in New Mexico. Most recently, Judge Johnson also had to lead the District of New Mexico and its hundreds of personnel through the COVID pandemic over the past two years. He successfully navigated the unprecedented challenges to court operations and the administration of justice brought on by the pandemic. Johnson is one of two VMI alumni currently serving as active federal district judges, the other: Judge Steven J. McAuliffe '71, is a senior federal district judge in the District of New Hampshire. VMI does not maintain records of alumni who have served as federal judges, yet it is possible that Judge Johnson and Judge McAuliffe '71 are the only two living Article III District judges from the Virginia Military Institute. Over the years, Judge Johnson has returned to VMI to speak with cadets about careers in law on the Cadet-Alumni Career Networking Forum's Legal Panel and at a meeting of the VMI Pre-Law Society. He continually provides mentorship and help not only to VMI cadets interested in Legal careers, but also to those from his other alma mater: Washington and Lee. The career of Judge Johnson is that of a true citizen-soldier. Beloved and highly respected not only by his BRs in the class of '81, but by the entire VMI community. He continues to serve as an exemplary profile in leadership. Rah Sir, Rah 81, and Rah Va Mil!