The Honorable William A. Thorne Jr. received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Center for State Courts during the Utah State Courts annual judicial conference in Park City in October 2016. Mary C. McQueen, president of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), presented Thorne the award. “NCSC is fortunate to benefit from the long-standing experience Judge Thorne brings from his 30 years as a state court trial judge, tribal judge, and state court appellate judge,” she said.

Thorne has served as a tribal court judge in Utah, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Michigan. He is the former president of the National Indian Justice Center (a nonprofit that trains tribal court personnel around the country) and a board member of National CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates, a nonprofit group that provides volunteer representation in court for abused and neglected children).

Thorne was appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals in May 2000 by Governor Mike Leavitt and served on the appellate court until retiring in 2013.