Judge Harry J. Wilters Jr.
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The University of South Alabama department of political science and criminal justice will begin a new endowed lectureship, thanks to a gift from the Wilters family and the University of South Alabama Foundation.

The Judge Harry J. Wilters Jr. Lectureship in Constitutional Law and Professional Ethics, established by the USA Foundation Board, was made possible through a gift donated by Judge Wilters’ family: Mrs. Verla Ledlow Wilters, a USA Foundation Board member; Dr. John Wilters; and Judge Robert Wilters.

The endowed lecture will provide funding for an annual lecture in Constitutional Law and Professional Ethics, the core values of Judge Wilters’ creed in upholding the law.

The late Judge Wilters, a legendary jurist and lawyer in Baldwin County, was a native of Baldwin County who graduated from Robertsdale High School. He served with the Army Air Corps/Air Force in the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan following the 1945 atomic bombings.  He returned to Alabama to complete his undergraduate work at the University of Alabama and received his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law.  Judge Wilters practiced law for 60 years and served as presiding judge of the 28th Judicial Circuit (Baldwin County) for almost 14 years. He continued to serve his community as a judge on special cases. The law library in the Bay Minette Courthouse bears his name.