William M. McCarty (judge)

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William Murdock McCarty (May 15, 1859 – December 19, 1918) was a justice on the Utah Supreme Court from 1903 to 1918. He was born in Alpine, Utah, and grew up there after attending public schools, then studied at Brigham Young Academy. He learned law while working as a wagon freighter between Utah and Nevada mines, studying at night in camping spots along the road.

McCarty served as assistant United States prosecuting attorney in the Beaver district in the Utah Territory. In 1895 he was elected judge of the Sixth District (Sevier, Wayne, Piute, Garfield and Kane counties) and took office in January 1896 when Utah became a state. He was reelected in 1900. In 1902 he was elected to the Utah Supreme Court and was reelected in 1908 and 1914. He would have begun a third term as chief justice the following month; he had previously served as chief justice from 1906 to 1908 and from 1912 to 1914.

McCarty was a Republican and a Freemason (Story Lodge No. 4). He married Lovina L. Murray, and they had four children. He died in Salt Lake City on December 19, 1918, after several weeks of bronchial pneumonia.