Resigning As The Sand In The Gears

Author

Melanie Proctor
March 23, 2025

Three days ago, an acting U.S. Attorney in North Carolina resigned, writing on LinkedIn that he looks forward to returning to private practice and “doing what [he] can to ensure that the Department [of Justice] stays true” to its mission of impartial justice.[1] Last week, a law firm associate offered a conditional resignation, stating she would resign unless her firm stood on the right side of history.[2] Instead, the firm turned off her email and removed her from its systems.[3]

102 years ago, another federal attorney made a similar decision. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Gloria was appointed as legal advisor to the Federal Prohibition Director for California. But in 1923, he resigned, protesting the “alleged ‘rough house’ methods of prohibition agents.”[4]

Gloria wrote in his resignation letter that he did not “believe in methods of enforcement of the prohibition law which result in violating the sanctity of womanhood and the inalienable rights which are inherent to citizenship in a free country.” He also stated “I have waited patiently, but in vain, that you would take the proper disciplinary action against these men, but as yet your disciplinary action is conspicuous only in its absence.”[5]

Gloria’s resignation followed allegations that prohibition agents committed violence against women they arrested, among other scandals.[6] It also closely followed a Washington, D.C. announcement that the California director would retain his position.[7] After Gloria resigned, he spoke out, charging that the chief deputy prohibition agent “was responsible for the disappearance of 600 cases of liquor seized on [a] Monterey raid.”[8]

William J. Gloria was born in July 1897 to William S. and Anne (Collins) Gloria.[9] His father was a native of Portugal; his mother born in California to Irish immigrants.[10] The family moved to Sacramento by 1910, where his father published a Portuguese language newspaper.[11] The younger William enlisted in the military during World War I, training in Kansas and serving in the medical corps in France.[12] By 1922, the family returned to the Bay Area.[13]

After William J. Gloria resigned from the Prohibition Unit, he continued his legal career. He represented two women who killed a customs agent in self-defense, and successfully defended an elderly Chinese “houseboy” accused of murdering his employer.[14] Gloria died of pneumonia in 1937, just two weeks after his mother’s death.[15]

Today, the impartiality of the U.S. Department of Justice is compromised. Others may follow former U.S. Attorney Lawrence’s lead. And as we watch large law firms crumble in the face of unpresidential threats, one must wonder where the resistance lies in private law, outside of the few firms that have stepped up. Sometimes, resigning is the sand in the gears.[16]

[2] LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rachelxcohen_i-just-put-in-conditional-notice-at-skadden-activity-7308686339435044864-gmb9), Rachel Cohen, 21 Mar 2025. Ms. Cohen spoke to PBS about her resignation. “Associates at prominent law firms urge their employers to withstand pressure from Trump,” PBS News Hour (www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/associates-at-prominent-law-firms-urge-their-employers-to-withstand-pressure-from-trump), 21 Mar 2025.

[3] Staci Zaretsky, “A Third-Year Skadden Associate Is The Only Person In Biglaw Willing To Publicly Condemn Trump’s Threat To The Rule of Law,” Above the Law (https://abovethelaw.com/2025/03/a-third-year-skadden-associate-is-the-only-person-in-biglaw-willing-to-publicly-condemn-trumps-threat-to-the-rule-of-law), 21 Mar 2025.

[4] “Drys Flout Law, Charge of Advisor,” The San Francisco (California) Examiner, 9 Apr 1923, p. 1, cols. 2-3; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/457719401).

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Head of State Dry Force to Hold Place,” The Register (Santa Ana, California), 20 Mar 1923, p. 1, col. 7; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/87299195).

[8] “Wheeler Is Attacked By William J. Gloria,” The Fresno (California) Bee, 7 Jul 1923, p. 2, col. 2; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/701075255).

[9] 1900 U.S. census, San Francisco, California, population schedule, San Francisco, enumeration district (ED) 151, page 330 (stamped), dwelling 82, family 142, William (2) in household of William S. Gloria; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/6355086).  

William J. Gloria and Anne Collins married 27 July 1899. Alameda County, California, Index to Marriage Licenses and Certificates, Vol. 8, 1898–1900, Gloria–Collins, 27 Jul 1899; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8797/records/110268).

[10] 1900 U.S. census, San Francisco, California, pop. sched., San Francisco, ED 151, page 330 (stamped), dwell. 82, fam. 142, William (2) in household of William S. Gloria

[11] 1910 U.S. census, Sacramento, California, Sacramento, ED 105, sheet 1B, dwell. 96, fam. 107, William S. Gloria; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/19237167). 

1920 U.S. census, Sacramento, California, Sacramento, ED 126, sheet 10B, dwell. 183, fam. 152, William S. Gloria; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/19237167).  

[12] “California, U.S., World War I Soldier Service Cards and Photos, 1917–1918,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1701/records/8459), William James Gloria. William was trilingual, and spoke Portuguese, French, and English.

[13] Oakland, California, City Directory (Oakland, California: Polk-Husted Directory Co., 1922), 637, Wm S Gloria; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/239632721), image 345 of 902.

[14] “Women Admit They Killed Customs Guard,” The Redlands (California) Daily Facts, 23 Jan 1925, p. 1, col. 2; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/994543621).

“Liu Defense Riddles Police Case,” The San Francisco (California) Examiner, 23 Dec 1930, p. 1, col. 2; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/457898146).  “Chinese Found Not Guilty of Murder Charge,” The Pasadena (California) Post, 19 Mar 1931, p. 3, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/239632721).

[15] “Pneumonia Held Cause of Death,” Oakland Tribune, 31 Jan 1937, p. 8, col. 1; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/129731416). His mother predeceased him by just two weeks. His father survived him by six years. “William S. Gloria,” The Sacramento (California) Bee, 23 Jan 1943, p. 7, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/617617662).

 [16] Frank Turner, “Sand in the Gears,” YouTube (https://youtu.be/Z3CmycG8YGc).