Diane Wood

Diane Wood

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (senior status)

Tenure

2022 - Present

Years in position

2

Prior offices

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, Austin, 1971

Law

University of Texas School of Law, 1975

Personal

Birthplace

Plainfield, N.J.

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Diane Pamela Wood is a judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Wood was nominated to the Seventh Circuit by President Bill Clinton (D) on March 31, 1995. She was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate and received her commission on June 30, 1995. Wood assumed senior status on September 7, 2022.

Wood was elevated to the position of chief judge on October 1, 2013, succeeding Frank Easterbrook. She left the position of chief judge in 2020.

Biography

Early life and education

Wood was born in Plainfield, N.J., in 1950. Wood graduated with a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1971. She earned her J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 1975.

Professional career

• 1993-1995: Deputy assistant attorney general, antitrust division, U.S. Department of Justice
• 1980-1995: Faculty at University of Chicago Law School
• 1989-1992: Associate Dean, University of Chicago Law School
• 1980: Faculty at Georgetown Law School
• 1978-1980: Attorney, Covington & Burling
• 1977-1978: Attorney-advisor, Office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. State Department
• 1976: Law clerk, Hon. Harry Blackmun, Supreme Court of the United States
• 1975: Law clerk, Hon. Irving Goldberg, United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit

Judicial career

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Diane P. Wood
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 91 days after nomination.
ANominated: March 31, 1995
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: June 27, 1995
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: June 29, 1995
AConfirmed: June 30, 1995
AVote: Voice vote

Wood was nominated to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals by President Bill Clinton on March 31, 1995. The American Bar Association rated Wood Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Wood's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 27, 1995, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on June 29, 1995. Wood was confirmed by a voice vote in the U.S. Senate on June 30, 1995, and she received her commission the same day. Wood served as chief judge of the court from 2013 to 2020.

Potential Supreme Court nominee

In 2008, The Washington Post reported that Judge Wood was a potential nominee for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Journalists and pundits theorized that up to three Supreme Court justices could retire in Obama's term.

Judge Wood was interviewed by the White House on May 4, 2010, regarding the replacement of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court. Many experts viewed her as the potential front-runner to replace Stevens. During her interview, she was questioned by both President Obama and Vice President Biden.

Noteworthy cases

Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker (2020)

See also: Lawsuits about state actions and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker: On June 15, 2020, the Illinois Republican Party, together with three local Republican groups, filed suit against Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In their complaint, Republicans argued that their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights had been violated because, "unlike churches, political parties are barred from gathering in groups greater than 10 under the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-38." Republicans said that "[w]hen the state grants access to one set of speakers, it must give equal access and treatment to all speakers of a similar character," contrasting their treatment to both that of churches and protesters. They have asked the court to enjoin the state from enforcing Executive Order 2020-38 against political parties. Pritzker’s spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, said, "[As] the Republicans who attended protests against the public health guidance are well aware, the State has never prevented people from exercising their First Amendment rights."

On July 2, 2020, Judge Sara Lee Ellis, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, denied Republicans' motion for an injunction against the gathering-size restriction (which was subsequently raised to 50 people). Republicans appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On Sept. 3, a three-judge panel rejected the appeal, finding that precedent "does not compel the Governor to treat all gatherings alike." The panel further concluded that "free exercise of religion enjoys express constitutional protection, and the Governor was entitled to carve out some room for religion, even while he declined to do so for other activities." Finally, the court emphasized that re-subjecting religious gatherings to the mandatory cap would "leave the Republicans no better off than they are today." Chief Judge Diane Wood and Judges Amy St. Eve and Amy Coney Barrett sat on the panel and were unanimous in their decision.

Daniel Suhr, counsel for the Republican Party, said in a statement, "We are disappointed in the decision, respectfully disagree with it, and are considering our options."

Other cases

• Hively v. Ivy Tech, 15-1720, (7th Cir. 2017): Wood, writing for the circuit court en banc, held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Act) prohibited discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. The Seventh Circuit was the first federal appeals court to extend Title VII's protections to encompass discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as a form of sex discrimination, which is prohibited explicitly under the text of the Act.

• Walker v. O'Brien, 216 F.3d 626, (7th Cir. 2000): Wood, writing for the panel, held that the requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act do not apply to properly characterized habeas corpus actions because those actions are not “civil actions” within the meaning of the Act.

• Fornalik v. Perryman, 223 F.3d 523, (7th Cir. 2000): Wood, writing for the panel, held that an INS district office order putting a minor alien in deferred status pending an application to proceed as an abused child of a visa recipient under the Violence Against Women Act took precedence over an earlier removal order issued by another INS district office.

• Goldwasser v. Ameritech Corp., 222 F.3d 390 (7th Cir. 2000): Wood, writing for the panel, held that a violation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act was not sufficient to state a claim under general antitrust laws.

• Illinois ex rel. Ryan v. Brown, 227 F.3d 1042 (7th Cir. 2000): Wood, writing for the panel, held that the State of Illinois itself, rather than taxpayer plaintiffs, was the correct party to sue under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to recover losses stemming from a corrupt loan to public official.

• St. John's United Church of Christ v. City of Chicago, 502 F.3d 616 (7th Cir. 2007): Wood, writing for the majority, held that the O'Hare Modernization Act’s amendment of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act did not violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because it was a law of general applicability that did not target the plaintiff Church.

• United States v. Warner & Ryan, 498 F.3d 666 (7th Cir. 2007): Wood, writing for the majority, affirmed the convictions on various criminal charges of former Illinois Governor George H. Ryan, Sr., and his associate Lawrence E. Warner.

• Germano v. International Profit Association, 544 F.3d 798 (7th Cir. 2008). Wood, writing for the panel, held that statements transmitted by deaf individuals using a communications assistant in a telecommunications relay service conversation are not hearsay.

• Christian Legal Society v. Walker, 453 F.3d 853 (7th Cir. 2006) (dissent). The panel majority held that the Christian Legal Society (CLS) was entitled to a preliminary injunction preventing Southern Illinois University's revocation of CLS's student group status based on the CLS's failure to adhere to the University's nondiscrimination policy. In dissent, Wood argued that CLS was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because it failed to show that it was likely to succeed on the merits and failed to demonstrate that it had a fundamental right to the benefits the University believed should have been withheld so long as CLS did not comply with the University's policy.

• Bloch v. Frischholz, 533 F.3d 562 (7th Cir. 2008) (dissent). The panel majority held that a condominium association rule prohibiting objects outside of owners’ doors was facially neutral, and that the Fair Housing Act does not require a religious accommodation for those of Jewish faith wishing to put mezuzot on their doorposts. In dissent, Wood argued plaintiffs had established a claim for intentional religious discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, as there was sufficient evidence in the record to conclude that the rule was being applied in a way that would constitute a constructive eviction of observant Jews.

• Solid Waste Agency v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 191 F.3d 845 (1999): Wood, writing for the panel, held that the decision to regulate isolated waters based on their actual use as a habitat by migratory birds was within Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause. The Supreme Court reversed. 531 U.S. 159 (2001).

• National Organization for Women v. Scheidler, 267 F.3d 687 (7th Cir. 2001): Wood, writing for the panel, held that the district court did not err in concluding that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act authorized private plaintiffs to seek injunctive relief. In addition, the court held that the injunction issued by the district prohibiting violent conduct by anti-abortion protesters struck the proper balance and avoided any risk of curtailing activities protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court reversed. 537 U.S. 393 (2003).

John Doe investigations

See also: John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker

Two John Doe investigations, beginning in 2010 and ending in 2015, were launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) into the activities of staff and associates of Gov. Scott Walker (R). On February 10, 2014, Eric O'Keefe, a target in the second investigation, filed a federal lawsuit stating that the investigation was used as an instrument to shut down conservative speech and therefore violated the targets' First Amendment rights. The suit was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Prosecutors subsequently filed an appeal with the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

During arguments, Seventh Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook questioned the constitutionality of the secrecy orders, stating they were “screaming with unconstitutionality.” Judge Diane Wood focused on why the suit was filed in federal court. O'Keefe's attorneys pointed to the fact that the Wisconsin Supreme Court had yet to take up the cases filed in state court.

On September 24, the Seventh Circuit reversed the injunction order and dismissed the lawsuit, based on the concern that it constituted federal interference in a state case.

Awards and associations

In 1990, Wood was named the Harold J. and Marion F. Green Chair in International Legal Studies becoming the first woman at the Law School to be honored with a named chair.

Outside of her role as a federal judge, Wood has worked on various legal reform projects. The majority of her involvement comes through the American Bar Association and the Brookings Institution Project on Civil Justice Reform. Wood was instrumental in developing the University of Chicago’s first policy on sexual harassment and has become a consultant in business law as well, advising businesses on developing policies that take harassment law into account.

Judge Wood holds memberships in the American Law Institute, the International Academy of Comparative Law, the American Society of International Law, and the American Bar Association. She has served on the governing councils of the ABA’s Section of Antitrust Law and its Section of International Law and Practice. Since joining the Court, she has continued to teach at The University of Chicago Law School as a Senior Lecturer.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
• University of Chicago Law School, "Biography of Diane Wood"
• American Bar Association, "Biography of Diane Wood"
• ABA Journal, "Meet Judge Diane Wood, a 'Philosophical Outlier' on the 7th Circuit," April 22, 2010
• The New York Times, "Judicial Bouts Reveal Power of Persuasion," April 21, 2010

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit 1995-2022	Succeeded by -