John F. Kness | |
---|---|
Judge of the United 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 53–54) Chicago,Illinois,U.S. |
Education | Northwestern University (BA,JD) |
John Fitzgerald Kness (born 1969) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to becoming a judge,Kness served as General Counsel of the College of DuPage.
Kness earned his Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and his Juris Doctor, cum laude ,from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. [1]
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 Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2004 to 2005. From 2009 to 2016,he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in 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 the College of DuPage,where he oversaw all legal matters at the second-largest institution of higher learning in Illinois. [1]
On June 11,2019,President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Kness to serve as a United States district judge for the United 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 Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan,who retired on February 17,2018. [3] On July 17,2019,a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [4] On October 17,2019,his nomination was reported out of committee by a 19–3 vote. [5] On February 11,2020,the United States Senate invoked cloture on 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]
He has been an intermittent member of the Federalist Society since 2004. [10]
Howard Curtis Nielson Jr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Utah.
Andrew Lynn Brasher is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. He is a former solicitor general of Alabama.
Allen Cothrel Winsor is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Thomas Kent Wetherell II is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida,and former Florida state court judge.
Corey Landon Maze is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Steven Charles Seeger is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Martha Maria Pacold is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Damon Ray Leichty is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
Steven Daniel Grimberg is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Scott Hugh Rash is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona and former state court judge.
John William Holcomb is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
John Frederick Heil III is an American lawyer from Oklahoma who is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. In addition to his appointment to the Northern District,he is also a judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
John Charles Hinderaker is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
Anna Marie Manasco is an American attorney from Alabama who is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Stephen Patrick McGlynn is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
David Wayne Dugan is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Iain David Johnston is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Jude Philip Calabrese,known professionally as J. Philip Calabrese and Phil Calabrese,is an American jurist who serves as a district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He formerly served as a judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas from 2019 to 2020.
James Ray Knepp II is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.
Kristi Erin Haskins Johnson is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and former solicitor general of Mississippi.