James Zagel

James Zagel

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (senior status)

Tenure

2016 - Present

Years in position

8

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Chicago, 1962

Graduate

University of Chicago, 1962

Law

Harvard Law School, 1965

Personal

Birthplace

Chicago, Ill.

James Block Zagel is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He joined the court in 1987 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan. Zagel also served on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. His term ran from May 18, 2008, until May 18, 2015.

Early life and education

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Zagel earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1962 from the University of Chicago and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1965.

Professional career

• 1987-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

• 2016-present: Senior judge
• 1987-2016: Active judge

• 1980-1987: Director of state police, Illinois
• 1980-1987: Chairman, Governor's advisory counsel on criminal justice legislation
• 1979-1980: Director, Illinois Department of Revenue
• 1977-1979: Executive director, Illinois Law Enforcement Commission
• 1975: Chief assistant attorney general, Arizona
• 1973-1975: Chief prosecuting attorney, Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board
• 1969-1977: Office of the Attorney General of Illinois

• 1970-1977: Chief, Criminal Justice Division
• 1969-1970: Deputy chief, Criminal Justice Division
• 1969-1977: Assistant attorney general

• 1965-1969: Assistant state's attorney, Cook County, Illinois

Judicial career

Northern District of Illinois

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: James B. Zagel
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Progress
Confirmed 78 days after nomination.
ANominated: February 2, 1987
AABA Rating:
Questionnaire:
AHearing: March 11, 1987
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: April 8, 1987
AConfirmed: April 21, 1987
AVote: Voice vote

Zagel was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President Ronald Reagan on February 2, 1987, to a seat vacated by Judge Frank McGarr. Hearings on Zagel's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 11, 1987, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on April 8, 1987. Zagel was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on April 21, 1987, and he received his commission the next day. Zagel assumed senior status on the court on October 21, 2016.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Zagel also concurrently served on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He was appointed on May 18, 2008, and his term ended on May 18, 2015.

Noteworthy cases

Zagel dismisses Neiman Marcus data breach lawsuit (2014)

U.S. District Judge James Zagel dismissed a class action lawsuit brought by several customers of the Neiman Marcus Group. The lawsuit claimed that the department store's negligent security led to a 2013 hack that compromised the credit card numbers of 350,000 customers. The plaintiffs sought reimbursement for unauthorized charges. Judge Zagel ruled that allegations of stolen data was not enough to grant the plaintiffs standing or to prove their concrete injury in the case.

Articles:

• Bloomberg BNA, "Neiman Marcus Breach Class Claims Dismissed for Lack of Concrete Injury," September 22, 2014
• Law360, "7th Circ. Urged To Revive Neiman Marcus Data Breach Suit," January 23, 2015

William Cellini trial (2013)

See also: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (United States v. Kahn, 10-cr-00240)

Judge Zagel presided over the trial of William Cellini, a major Illinois power broker convicted in connection with the Rob Blagojevich corruption case. The trial began on October 3, 2011, as a separate trial from Blagojevich's, though they had been scheduled to be tried together. Cellini had been a long-time organizer of major fundraisers for Republican Party candidates.

In November 2011, Cellini was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion and aiding and abetting the solicitation of a bribe. He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and began serving that sentence in January 2013.

Money wired to Al-Qaeda (2012)

See also: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (United States v. Kahn, 10-cr-00240)

In February 2012, Judge Zagel presided over the case of Raja Kahn, who plead guilty to providing material support to a terrorist group. Kahn wired $300 to an ally of Al-Qaeda, and accepted $700 from an undercover agent to send to the same individual.

Kahn is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was originally to be sentenced to thirty years in prison, but with his plea he received five to eight years behind bars.

Rod Blagojevich trial (2010-2011)

See also: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Judge Zagel presided over the corruption trials of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. In his second trial, the former governor was accused of twenty counts of corruption, specifically: 10 counts of wire fraud, 4 counts of attempted extortion, 2 counts of solicitation of a bribe, 2 counts of conspiracy to solicit a bribe, 1 count of extortion conspiracy, and 1 count of conspiracy to commit extortion. In June 2011, Blagojevich was convicted of 17 of 20 charges.

On December 7, 2011, Judge Zagel announced the sentence as a $20,000 fine and 14 years in prison to begin within 90 days. Judge Zagel was not inclined towards the leniency that Blagojevich's lawyers sought, noting that Blagojevich's apology to the state came late and that his actions had done much damage in the form of eroding public trust. Despite this, the sentence was under the 15 to 20 years requested by the prosecution.

In his first trial, Blagojevich was accused of 24 charges and the jury deadlocked on 23 of them. Prior to that trial, in 2010, two of the governor's chiefs of staff, John Harris and Alonzo Monk, agreed to plea deals with the prosecution. They agreed to testify against Blagojevich in exchange for shorter sentences.

While he was convicted of 17 different charges, the most memorable conviction was that of wire fraud regarding President Barack Obama's soon-to-be-vacated United States Senate seat. In phone calls which were recorded, Blagojevich spoke of the seat by saying, "I've got this thing and it's f***ing...golden," hoping to be compensated in some way for making an appointment favorable to the administration.

Operation Family Secrets trial (2007)

Zagel presided over one of Chicago's largest organized crime cases, referred to as the "Operation Family Secrets" trial, which resulted in the convictions of three mobsters for 10 murders.

Articles:

• CBS News, "3 Chicago Mobsters Convicted Of 10 Murders," September 27, 2007
• Chicago Tribune, "Background: The Mob on trial" (Collection of articles on this case from 2005-2012)

Praise for Judge Zagel

Rick Halprin, who was an attorney in the highly-publicized Family Secrets trial in 2007, told the Chicago Tribune on May 17, 2010, that Zagel was well-known for his handling of high-profile trials. Zagel was the presiding judge in the 2007 trial involving a highly regarded organized crime outfit in Chicago. Halprin also said that Zagel made it a point to meet with attorneys before the day's courtroom activity began in order to resolve any legal conflicts that could have affected an impartial jury verdict. Sergio Acosta, who was a former prosecutor for the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office, said that the judge "runs a no nonsense courtroom." Acosta also said: "He is one of the most highly regarded judges in the building."

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

External links

• Judge Zagel's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: Frank McGarr	Northern District of Illinois 1987–2016 Seat #12	Succeeded by: Steven Seeger