William Durland is a U.S. attorney, peace activist, author, and former member of the Virginia State Legislature. He is a member of the Religious Society of Friends

Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

 (Quakers).

Education

He received a Bachelor's degree from Bucknell University

Bucknell University

Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...

 in 1953, and a JD degree from Georgetown Law School in 1959. In 1975 he earned an M.A. in Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology

Biblical theology is a discipline within Christian theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament...

 and Nonviolence

Nonviolence

Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...

 from Notre Dame University and in 1977 he received a PhD. from Union Graduate School at Antioch College

Antioch College

Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...

 in Political and Religious Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

.

Political life

William Durland served in the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia House of Delegates

The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...

 as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 representing the 27th District (which at the time represented the County of Fairfax and the cities of Fairfax, Virginia

Fairfax, Virginia

The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....

 and Falls Church, Virginia) from 1966-1969)

Durland was later elected as the Vice-Mayor and Council member of the Town of Cokedale, Colorado

Cokedale, Colorado

The Town of Cokedale is a Statutory Town located in Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 139 at the 2000 census. Cokedale was a former coal mining town. The mine shut down in 1947...

 in 1990, and was elected as a member of the City Council of the city of Trinidad, Colorado

Trinidad, Colorado

The historic City of Trinidad is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States...

 in 1995.

Professional life

William Durland has practiced in the areas of International, Constitutional and Military law with an emphasis on human right and civil liberties for more than 40 years. He argued before the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 in the case of Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar

Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar

Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U.S. 773 was a U.S. Supreme Court decision. It stated that lawyers engage in "trade or commerce" and hence ended the legal profession's exemption from antitrust laws.- Background of the case :...

, .

Durland also has had a long history in education, teaching in the areas of Philosophy, History and Government, at Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

, Villanova University

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

, the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

, and in the Colorado Community College System

Colorado Community College System

The Colorado Community College System consists of 14 community colleges across the state of Colorado. Created by legislation in 1967, it serves more than 116,000 students annually...

. He also taught peace and justice courses at Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill is located in the north-east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Clitheroe and Padiham, an area known as Pendleside. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill, separated from the Pennines to the...

 Quaker Study and Contemplation Center from 1985-1988.

Books authored

William Durland has written several books on theology and Nonviolence including God or Nations Radial Theology for the Religious Peace Movement (1989), No King but Caesar (1975), People pay for peace: A military tax refusal guide for radical religious pacifists and people of conscience (1980), Ethical Issues. A Search for the Contemporary Conscience (1975), The apocalyptic witness: A radical calling for our own times (1988), and The illegality of war (1983).

Peace activism

In 2002, Bill and his wife Genie traveled to Iraq as part of a delegation from Christian Peacemaker Teams

Christian Peacemaker Teams

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. These teams believe that they can lower the levels of violence through nonviolent direct action, human rights documentation, and nonviolence training. CPT sums...

.

In 2005, Durland defended Dale Bartell before a court-martial at Fort Carson.

In 2008 Durland served on the defense teams of Robin Long

Robin Long

Robin Long is one of several U.S. Army deserters who sought asylum in Canada because of his opposition to the Iraq war and became the first of those to be deported to the United States after being rejected for refugee status...

 and Daniel Sandate

Daniel Sandate

Daniel Sandate was the second known U.S. soldier to be deported from Canada to the United States when he was deported July 16, 2008 from Niagara Falls, Canada....

 the first two U.S. soldiers deported from Canada, after having fled to Canada to avoid fighting in the Iraq War.