John Tharp, Jr.
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2012 - Present
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John Tharp, Jr. is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama in 2011. Prior to joining the court, Tharp was a partner at a law firm in Chicago.[1][2]
Tharp was also a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts on May 19, 2018, and retired from the court at the end of his term on May 18, 2025.[3]
Early life and education
Tharp earned an A.B., summa cum laude, in 1982 from Duke University. He earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1990.[4]
Military service
He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1982 to 1987.[4]
Professional career
After graduation, Tharp began his career as a clerk for Judge Joel Flaum from 1990 to 1991. He worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis from 1991 to 1992. For the next five years, Tharp was an assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. He went to work as a partner at Mayer Brown LLP in 1997.[4]
Judicial career
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (2018-2025)
Tharp is a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to a seven-year term beginning on May 19, 2018, and retired from the court at the end of his term on May 18, 2025.[3]
Northern District of Illinois (2012-present)
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| Nominee Information |
| Name: John Tharp, Jr. |
| Court: Northern District of Illinois |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 186 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: 11/10/2011
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| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
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| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: 1/26/2012
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| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
 Reported:
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| Confirmed: 5/14/2012
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Tharp was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President Obama on November 10, 2011.[4] He succeeded Judge Blanche Manning.[1]
Tharp was rated Unanimously Well Qualified by the American Bar Association. He had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 26, 2012, and you can find his Committee Questionnaire available here and his Questions for the Record available here.[5]
On May 14, 2012, John Tharp, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois with a vote of 86-1.[6][7]
See also
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Official FJC Bio for Judge Tharp
- United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Presidential Nominations and Withdrawl Sent to the Senate," November 10, 2011 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "nomshort" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Official FJC Bio for Judge Tharp
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, "Current Membership," accessed May 18, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "fisc" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the US District Court Bench" 11/10/2011
- ↑ 112th Congress Nomination Materials
- ↑ Report on the Activities of the Senate Judiciary Committee, 112th Congress
- ↑ United States Periodic Press Gallery
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| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Virginia Kendall • Robert Dow • Sharon Coleman • Edmond E. Chang • Jorge L. Alonso • Franklin U. Valderrama • John Tharp, Jr. • Mary Rowland • Sara Lee Ellis • Andrea R. Wood • Manish Shah • Iain D. Johnston • John Robert Blakey • LaShonda A. Hunt • Martha Pacold • Steven Seeger • John Kness • Jeffrey Cummings • Sunil Harjani • Lindsay Jenkins • Jeremy Daniel • Georgia Alexakis • April Perry | ||
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| Former Chief judges |
Marvin Aspen • Ruben Castillo • John F. Grady • Charles Kocoras • James B. Moran • Rebecca Pallmeyer • John Peter Barnes • Philip Leo Sullivan • William Campbell (Illinois) • Frank McGarr • James B. Parsons • Edwin Robson • | ||
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