John F. Kness
John F. Kness | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | |
| Assumed office February 18, 2020 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Samuel Der-Yeghiayan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Fitzgerald Kness 1969 (age 54–55) Chicago,Illinois,U.S. |
| Education | Northwestern University(BA,JD) |
John Fitzgerald Kness(born 1969) is aUnited States district judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.Prior to becoming a judge, Kness served as General Counsel of theCollege of DuPage.
Education
[edit]Kness earned hisBachelor of ArtsfromNorthwestern Universityand hisJuris Doctor,cum laude,from theNorthwestern University Pritzker School of Law.[1]
Legal career
[edit]Kness has spent his legal career engaged approximately equally in private practice and in criminal prosecution. In the private sector, Kness worked mostly in general litigation. As a prosecutor, Kness worked exclusively on criminal prosecutions. Kness handled seven jury and one bench trials, all criminal.[2]
He has experience in law enforcement, having served as a patrol officer for the Oak Park Police Department prior to law school. After graduating law school, Kness served as a law clerk to JudgeWilliam H. Pryor Jr.of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuitfrom 2004 to 2005. From 2009 to 2016, he served as anAssistant United States Attorneyin the Northern District of Illinois, with stints in the National Security and Cybercrimes, Narcotics, and General Crimes Sections.[1]
From 2016 to 2020, he served as the General Counsel of theCollege of DuPage,where he oversaw all legal matters at the second-largest institution of higher learning inIllinois.[1]
Federal judicial service
[edit]On June 11, 2019, PresidentDonald Trumpannounced his intent to nominate Kness to serve as aUnited States district judgefor theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.On June 24, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Kness to the seat vacated by JudgeSamuel Der-Yeghiayan,who retired on February 17, 2018.[3]On July 17, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before theSenate Judiciary Committee.[4]On October 17, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 19–3 vote.[5]On February 11, 2020, theUnited States Senateinvokedclotureon his nomination by a 82–12 vote.[6]On February 12, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by an 81–12 vote.[7]He received his judicial commission on February 18, 2020.[8]He was sworn in on February 28, 2020.[9]
Memberships
[edit]He has been an intermittent member of theFederalist Societysince 2004.[10]
References
[edit]- ^abc"President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees" White House, June 11, 2019
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^Voruganti, Harsh (July 24, 2019)."John Kness – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois".Vetting Room.Retrieved17 April2020.
- ^"Thirteen Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate", White House, June 24, 2019
- ^"Nominations", United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for July 17, 2019
- ^Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 17, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
- ^"On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture: John Fitzgerald Kness to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois".www.senate.gov.Retrieved2020-02-11.
- ^"On the Nomination: Confirmation: John Fitzgerald Kness, of Illinois, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois".www.senate.gov.Retrieved2020-02-12.
- ^John F. Knessat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- ^"Judge John F. Kness Sworn in as District Judge for the U.S. District Court"(PDF).ilnd.uscourts.gov(Press release). February 28, 2020.RetrievedMay 28,2023.
- ^United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: John Fitzgerald Kness
External links
[edit]- John F. Knessat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- 1969 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American judges
- American police officers
- Assistant United States Attorneys
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Lawyers from Chicago
- Northwestern University alumni
- Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni
- United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump