Born in Dodge County, Wisconsin, LaBuy received a Bachelor of Laws from DePaul University College of Law in 1912. He was in private practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1912 to 1933. From 1930 to 1933, he was a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. He served as a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County from 1933 to 1944.^[1]

LaBuy was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 7, 1944, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by Judge William Harrison Holly. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 29, 1944, and received his commission on March 31, 1944. He assumed senior status on January 31, 1961, serving until his death on September 29, 1967.^[1]

Notable case edit

LaBuy presided over the well-known trial of automaker Preston Tucker.^{[citation needed]}

• Walter J. LaBuy at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.