Diane Sykes

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Diane Sykes
Image of Diane Sykes

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Tenure

2004 - Present

Years in position

20

Education

Bachelor's

Northwestern University, 1980

Law

Marquette University Law School, 1984

Personal
Birthplace
Milwaukee, Wis.

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Diane S. Sykes is the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She joined the court in 2004 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R). Sykes succeeded Diane Wood as chief judge in 2020.[1]

Sykes was included on President Donald Trump’s (R) June 2018 list of 25 potential Supreme Court nominees to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the court. Trump first released such a list during his 2016 presidential campaign and stated, “This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court.”[2][3]

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020. Trump said he would nominate a woman to replace Ginsburg.[4]

Education

Sykes graduated from Northwestern University with her bachelor’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism in 1980. She received her J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 1984. Between college and law school, she worked as a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal.[5]

Professional career

Judicial Career

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Diane S. Sykes
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 223 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: November 14, 2003
ApprovedAABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: February 11, 2004
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: March 11, 2004 
ApprovedAConfirmed: June 24, 2004
ApprovedAVote: 70-27


Sykes was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit by President George W. Bush (R) on November 14, 2003, to a seat vacated by Judge John Coffey. The American Bar Association rated Sykes Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.[6] Hearings were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on February 11, 2004, and Sykes' nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on March 11, 2004. Sykes was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 24, 2004, by a vote of 70-27. Sykes received her commission on July 1, 2004. She succeeded Diane Wood as chief judge of the court in 2020.[1][7]

Wisconsin Supreme Court

In September 1999, Sykes was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by former Governor and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to succeed Justice Janine Geske.[5]

Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Sykes was elected to the position of Circuit Court Judge in Milwaukee County in 1992. While a circuit court judge, Sykes handled cases in the misdemeanor, felony, and civil divisions.[5]

Noteworthy cases

Title VII discrimination case (2017)
See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (Kimberly Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, 15-1720)

Judge Diane Sykes wrote a dissenting opinion in the case of Hively v. Ivy Tech, which was argued before the full Seventh Circuit court on November 30, 2016, and decided by the court on April 4, 2017. The circuit court held that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation constituted sex-based discrimination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

In her dissent, Sykes argued that the majority's interpretation of the statute was not faithful to the statutory text as the text would have been understood at the time the statute was adopted. In advocating for a textualist interpretation of the statute, she stated,[8]

“

Judicial statutory updating, whether overt or covert, cannot be reconciled with the constitutional design. The Constitution establishes a procedure for enacting and amending statutes: bicameralism and presentment. ... Needless to say, statutory amendments brought to you by the judiciary do not pass through this process. That is why a textualist decision method matters: When we assume the power to alter the original public meaning of a statute through the process of interpretation, we assume a power that is not ours. The Constitution assigns the power to make and amend statutory law to the elected representatives of the people. However welcome today’s decision might be as a policy matter, it comes at a great cost to representative self-government. ... The court’s new liability rule is entirely judge-made; it does not derive from the text of Title VII in any meaningful sense. The court has arrogated to itself the power to create a new protected category under Title VII. Common-law liability rules may judicially evolve in this way, but statutory law is fundamentally different. Our constitutional structure requires us to respect the difference. It’s understandable that the court is impatient to protect lesbians and gay men from workplace discrimination without waiting for Congress to act. Legislative change is arduous and can be slow to come. But we’re not authorized to amend Title VII by interpretation. The ordinary, reasonable, and fair meaning of sex discrimination as that term is used in Title VII does not include discrimination based on sexual orientation, a wholly different kind of discrimination. Because Title VII does not by its terms prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, Hively’s case was properly dismissed. [9]

”
[8]

Possible Donald Trump nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court

See also: Possible nominees to replace Anthony Kennedy on the United States Supreme Court
See also: Process to fill the vacated seat of Justice Antonin Scalia

2020

On September 18, 2020, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court. The following day, President Donald Trump (R) said he would nominate a woman to replace Ginsburg.[10] On September 26, 2020, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy.[11]

Sykes was among the women President Trump had previously identified as a potential Supreme Court nominee before nominating Amy Coney Barrett. President Trump released four lists of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees; two in 2016, one in 2017, and one in 2020. Click here for more information on the vacancy and nomination process.

2018

Sykes was listed by President Donald Trump (R) as a potential Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy announced he would retire from the court effective July 31, 2018.[12] Trump ultimately chose Brett Kavanaugh as the nominee. Click here to learn more.

2017

On November 17, 2017, Sykes was included in a third list of individuals from which President Donald Trump would choose to fill vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court.

A White House statement announcing the nominees stated,[13]

“

One year ago, President Donald J. Trump was elected to restore the rule of law and to Make the Judiciary Great Again. Following the successful confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States and the nomination of more than seventy Federal judges—including five individuals from his Supreme Court list—President Trump today announced that he is refreshing his Supreme Court list with five additional judges. President Trump will choose a nominee for a future Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise, from this updated list of 25 individuals. The President remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch. These additions, like those on the original list released more than a year ago, were selected with input from respected conservative leaders.[9]

”

University of Toledo panel

In 2001, at a symposium convened at the University of Toledo to discuss judicial selection, Judge Sykes stated that "court races are now resembling legislative races, both in terms of rhetoric and their expense."[14]

Approach to the law

A profile of Sykes in 2000 quoted her as saying the following:

“

I will try very hard not to be a results-oriented jurist who figures out how he or she wants the case to come out and then makes the law fit that result. Rather, I'll start at the beginning of the legal analysis and work outward from there.[15][9]

”

See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed May 19, 2016
  2. ↑ CBS News, "Trump says Justice Kennedy's replacement will come from list of 25," June 27, 2018
  3. ↑ FindLaw, "Trump Revises His Supreme Court Picks," September 26, 2016
  4. ↑ The Hill, "Trump expects to nominate woman to replace Ginsburg next week," September 19, 2020
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wisconsin Court System, "Supreme Court justices - Diane S. Sykes," archived June 9, 2010
  6. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees," accessed May 31, 2016
  7. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1109 - Diane S. Sykes - The Judiciary," accessed May 19, 2016
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Kimberly Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, April 4, 2017
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  10. ↑ The Hill, "Trump expects to nominate woman to replace Ginsburg next week," September 19, 2020
  11. ↑ ‘’CNN’’, “Trump to announce Supreme Court nominee,” September 26, 2020
  12. ↑ CBS News, "Trump says Justice Kennedy's replacement will come from list of 25," June 27, 2018
  13. ↑ The White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Five Additions to Supreme Court List," November 17, 2017
  14. ↑ Toledo Blade, "Judicial Experts at UT Law Forum Divided on Value of Elected Bench," March 31, 2001
  15. ↑ Wisconsin Lawyer, Article, Vol. 73, No.6, June 2000

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
2004-Present		 Succeeded by
-



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