John Tharp

John Tharp
John Tharp
	Tharp in 2011
Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; May 19, 2018
Appointed by	John Roberts
Preceded by	F. Dennis Saylor IV
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; May 16, 2012
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Blanche M. Manning
Personal details
Born	John Joseph Tharp Jr.; September 18, 1960 (age 64); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Education	Duke University (BA); Northwestern University (JD)

John Joseph Tharp Jr. (born September 18, 1960)^[1] is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Biography

John J. Tharp Jr. was born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.^[1]^[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Duke University in 1982. Following his graduation, he served for five years in the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer, attaining the rank of captain.^[3] He received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1990. He served as a law clerk for Judge Joel Flaum of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1990 to 1991. He worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis from 1991 to 1992. He served as an assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1992 to 1997. From 1997 until 2012, he was an associate and then a partner at the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP. He was the co-chair of the securities litigation and enforcement practice at that firm.^[4]^[5]

Federal judicial service

On July 31, 2008, President George W. Bush nominated Tharp to replace Mark Filip on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.^[6] The nomination generated no controversy, but was made with less than six months remaining in the Bush presidency and was returned after not being acted upon by the 110th Congress.

On July 5, 2011, Senator Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, recommended to President Barack Obama, a Democrat, that Tharp be appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.^[7] The recommendation stemmed from a long-standing tradition in Illinois that, when the state is represented in the Senate by a Democrat and a Republican, the senator from the president's party gets to recommend candidates for two in every three judicial vacancies and the other senator chooses candidates for one in three.

On November 10, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Tharp to be a district judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, filling the vacancy created by Judge Blanche M. Manning, who assumed senior status in 2010.^[4] Tharp received his hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 26, 2012, and his nomination was reported to the Senate floor on February 16, 2012, by a voice vote, with Senator Mike Lee recording the only no vote.^[8]

On May 14, 2012, the United States Senate confirmed Tharp by an 86–1 vote, with Senator Mike Lee casting the lone nay vote.^[9] "I'm honored by both the nomination and the confirmation," Tharp told the Chicago Tribune shortly after the vote. "It's a real credit to both our senators that they worked together to get this done."^[10] He received his commission on May 16, 2012.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire" (PDF).
^ "John Joseph Tharp, Jr. Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com.
^ Tharp's profile at mayerbrown.com Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b "President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the US District Court Bench" White House, November 10, 2011
^ ^a ^b John Tharp at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The American Presidency Project. July 31, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
^ Pearson, Rick (July 6, 2011). "Kirk nominates ex-prosecutor for federal judge". Chicago Tribune.
^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting - February 16, 2012" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation John J. Tharp, Jr., of Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois)". www.senate.gov.
^ Goldsborough, Bob. "Senate confirms Oak Park lawyer as new Chicago-based federal judge". Chicago Tribune.

External links

John Tharp at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
John Tharp at Ballotpedia

Legal offices
Preceded by Blanche M. Manning	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 2012–present	Incumbent
Preceded by F. Dennis Saylor IV	Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court 2018–present	Incumbent