William K. Suter (born 1937) is the 19th and current Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States, a position he has held since 1991. The clerk's responsibilities include managing the Supreme Court's docket and calendar and overseeing the Supreme Court Bar. The clerk also attends all oral arguments at the Court.
Suter is a retired major general in the United States Army. At the time of his retirement from the Army in 1990 he had served for over a year as the acting Judge Advocate General. He had previously served as the Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Army, Chief Judge of the U.S. Army Court of Military Review (now called the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals[1]), Commander of the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency, and Commandant of the Judge Advocate General's School. During his military service, General Suter was awarded the Bronze Star for his service during the Vietnam War and the Distinguished Service Medal. Suter obtained a B.A. from Trinity University and his law degree from Tulane University. He was admitted to the bar in 1962.
As a captain in the mid-1960s, Suter was a popular instructor of administrative law to hundreds of new judge advocates attending their initial training at the Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Before moving on to his next assignment in Thailand, he attended airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and won his parachutist badge. His other military assignments included service as the Chief of Personnel, Plans, and Training, for the Judge Advocate General's Corps, and Staff Judge Advocate for the 101st Airborne Division, where his division commander was future Army Chief of Staff John Wickham. General Suter has been a leader among retired judge advocates and a mentor to hundreds of lawyers.
General Suter was nominated by President George H. W. Bush in 1989 to be Judge Advocate General of the Army. He retired after his and other nominations were returned by the Senate with criticism of Judge Advocate General's Corps personnel actions that it linked to allegations about unlawful command influence in the 3rd Armored Division in 1982 (see Senate Report 102-1, 102d Congress, 1st Session (Jan. 3, 1991)). Ironically, the Court of Military Review under Chief Judge Suter reversed a number of court-martial convictions arising from these allegations.
To distinguish him from former Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter, Suter is often referred to within the Supreme Court by the nickname "The General" or as "General Suter". General Suter is a prolific speaker about the Court. A popular figure in the national bar, he has received numerous honors for his frequent outreach efforts, including honorary degrees. A college basketball player, General Suter has been known throughout his career for his love of the sport. At the Court, he was known for playing basketball with law clerks on the "highest court in the land".