Services set for William Buckman

Services for William H. Buckman, 61, of Cherry Hill, a prominent civil rights lawyer, were set for 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, at Platt Memorial Chapels, 2001 Berlin Rd., Cherry Hill.

A visitation was set there from 12:15 p.m. Sunday, with interment in Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.

Mr. Buckman was found dead in a Mount Laurel motel room on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Mount Laurel police said Thursday that he had committed suicide, but did not state the circumstances.

Surviving are his wife, Shellie; son Ethan; daughter Emilee; two brothers; a sister; and a nephew.

"He was an incredible man who worked for causes he believed in, rather than for financial gratification," Ethan Buckman said. "He truly believed in equality and justice.

"And despite all the hours and the stress of the job, he was still a great friend, full of humor and joy, and the best and most present father anybody could ask for."

Mr. Buckman was a member of a legal team that convinced a Superior Court judge in the 1990s that state police officers were illegally targeting minorities in New Jersey Turnpike stops and searches.

State v. Soto, the first case in the nation to prove that officers were engaged in racial profiling, led to turnpike-traffic-stop oversight by the U.S. Justice Department.

The ACLU of New Jersey gave him its Roger N. Baldwin Civil Liberties Award and the Burlington County Bar Association gave him its Professional Lawyer of the Year Award.

Mr. Buckman was a former president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey and a former member of the board of trustees of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and of the board of trustees of the ACLU of New Jersey.

Mr. Buckman was a graduate of Richard Stockton College and the Rutgers-Camden law school. His Moorestown law office was decorated with pictures of Abraham Lincoln and the 20th century defense lawyer Clarence Darrow.

Donations may be sent to www.aclu-nj.org.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.plattmemorial.com.