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Iain D. Johnston

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Iain David Johnston
Image of Iain David Johnston

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Tenure

2020 - Present

Years in position

4

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Education

Bachelor's

Rockford College, 1987

Law

University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School, 1990

Personal
Birthplace
Chicago, Ill.
Contact

Official website 

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Iain D. Johnston is an Article III judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on February 12, 2020, and confirmed by a 77-14 vote of the U.S. Senate on September 17, 2020. To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Johnston was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2013 to 2020.[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Article III judge, 2020-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On February 12, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Johnston to an Article III seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The U.S. Senate confirmed Johnston by a vote of 77-14 on September 17, 2020.[2] He received commission on September 23, 2020.[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Iain D. Johnston
Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Progress
Confirmed 218 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: February 12, 2020
ApprovedAABA Rating: Substantial majority well qualified / Minority qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: June 24, 2020
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: July 30, 2020 
ApprovedAConfirmed: September 17, 2020
ApprovedAVote: 77-14

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Johnston by a vote of 77-14 on September 17, 2020.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Johnston confirmation vote (September 17, 2020)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 29 14 2
Ends.png Republican 47 0 6
Grey.png Independent 1 0 1
Total 77 14 9
Change in Senate rules
See also:
Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
United States federal courts"

Johnston was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[4]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[5]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[6] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.


Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Johnston had his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 24, 2020.[7] The committee reported Johnston's nomination to the full U.S. Senate on July 30, 2020, after a 17-5 vote.[8]

Nomination

On February 5, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Johnston to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.[9] The president officially nominated Johnston on February 12.[2]

Johnston was nominated to succeed Judge Frederick Kapala, who assumed senior status, on May 10, 2019.

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats from Illinois, said of the nomination of David Dugan, Iain D. Johnston, and Franklin U. Valderrama, "We are pleased that the President nominated Judge Dugan, Judge Johnston, and Judge Valderrama to fill vacant district court judgeships in Illinois. All three nominees were carefully reviewed by nonpartisan screening committees we established to evaluate potential candidates, and we expect these nominees to be diligent, thoughtful, and principled District Court Judges."[10]

The American Bar Association rated Johnston well qualified by a substantial majority and qualified by a minority for the position.[11] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (magistrate, 2013-2020)

Johnston was appointed to the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Illinois in February 2013, to fill the seat of P. Michael Mahoney, who retired.[12] He left office as a federal magistrate judge in 2020 after he was appointed to an Article III seat on the Northern District of Illinois.

Early life and education

Johnston was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1965. He earned his B.A., cum laude, in general studies from Rockford College in 1987 and obtained his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, also graduating cum laude, in 1990.[13]

Professional career

  • 2013-present: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • 2010-2013: Board counsel, Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation
  • 2008-2013: Partner, Johnston Greene LLC
  • 2005-2013: Adminstrative law judge, Illinois Drycleaners Environmental Response Trust Fund Council
  • 2006-2013: Administrate law judge, Illinois State Police
  • 2003-2008: Senior counsel, Holland & Knight LLC
  • 2006: Administrative law judge, Illinois Department of Insurance
  • 2003: Solo attorney, Iain D. Johnston Attorney at Law
  • 1999-2003: Altheimer & Gray
    • 2002-2003: Partner
    • 1999-2002: Senior associate
  • 1998-1999: General counsel, Waubonsee Community College
  • 1993-1998: Assistant attorney general, Illinois Attorney General's Office
  • 1992-1993: Solo attorney, Iain D. Johnston Attorney at Law
  • 1990-1992 Judicial law clerk to Judge Philip Reinhard
    • 1992: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
    • 1990-1992: Illinois Appellate Court, Second District
  • 1990: Law clerk to Judge Thomas Hoffman, Circuit Court of Cook County[1][13]

Awards and associations

Awards

  • 2002: Illinois State Bar Association Young Lawyer of the Year
  • 2000: Illinois State Police Special Award[13]

Associations

  • American Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Federal Courts Law Review Board
  • The Federalist Society
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Scottish Law Society, St. Andrews Society of Chicago
  • Seventh Circuit Bar Association
  • Winnebago County Bar Association[13]

About the court

Northern District of Illinois
Seventh Circuit
NDIL.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 23
Judges: 23
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Virginia Kendall
Active judges: Georgia Alexakis, Jorge L. Alonso, John Robert Blakey, Edmond E. Chang, Sharon Coleman, Jeffrey Cummings, Jeremy Daniel, Robert Dow, Sara Lee Ellis, Sunil Harjani, LaShonda A. Hunt, Lindsay Jenkins, Iain David Johnston, Virginia Kendall, John Kness, Martha Pacold, April Perry, Mary Rowland, Steven Seeger, Manish Shah, John Tharp Jr., Franklin Ulyses Valderrama, Andrea R. Wood

Senior judges:
Marvin Aspen, Elaine Bucklo, Suzanne Conlon, Thomas M. Durkin, Robert Gettleman, Joan Gottschall, Ronald Guzman, Frederick Kapala, Matthew Kennelly, Charles Kocoras, Joan Lefkow, George Marovich, Charles Norgle, Rebecca Pallmeyer, Philip Reinhard, James Zagel


The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of Chicago and Rockford, Illinois. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit located in the same courthouse as the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

The Northern District of Illinois has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Eastern Division, covering Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake County, LaSalle, and Will counties

The Western Division, covering Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago counties

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

  • The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
  • The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
  • As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
  • After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
  • If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
  • If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
  • The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
  • If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
  • If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.


See also

External link

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, "District Judges Select Iain David Johnston to Serve as Magistrate Judge in Western Division," February 1, 2013
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN1508 — Iain D. Johnston — The Judiciary," accessed February 13, 2020
  3. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Johnston, Iain David," accessed September 24, 2020
  4. ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
  5. ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
  6. ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
  7. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Nominations," June 24, 2020
  8. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," July 30, 2020
  9. ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominee," February 5, 2019
  10. ↑ RiverBender.com, "Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Nominations Of David Dugan, Iain Johnston, Franklin Valderrama To Serve As U.s. District Judges," February 6, 2020
  11. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article IV judicial nominees," accessed June 24, 2020
  12. ↑ 23 WIFR, "New Federal Judge Named for Rockford," February 1, 2013
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Senate Judiciary Committee, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Iain David Johnston," accessed June 24, 2020

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2020-Present		 Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2013-2020		 Succeeded by
-


Illinois courts

Federal courts:

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois

State courts:

Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court

State resources:

Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois

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