United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

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Central District of Illinois
Seventh Circuit
Great seal of the United States.png
Judgeships
Posts: 4
Judges: 4
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Sara Lynn Darrow
Active judges: Colin Stirling Bruce, Sara Lynn Darrow, Jonathan E. Hawley, Colleen Lawless

Senior judges:
Joe McDade, Michael Mihm, Richard Mills, Sue Myerscough, James E. Shadid


The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of courthouses in Peoria, Urbana, Springfield and Rock Island, Illinois. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based in Chicago, Illinois, at the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Courthouse and Building.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, out of the court's four judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Sara Lynn Darrow

Barack Obama (D)

August 3, 2011 -

Marquette University, 1992

Saint Louis University Law, 1997

Colin Stirling Bruce

Barack Obama (D)

October 8, 2013 -

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1986

University of Illinois Law, 1989

Colleen Lawless

Joe Biden (D)

March 9, 2023 -

Illinois Wesleyan University, 2005

Northern Illinois University College of Law, 2009

Jonathan E. Hawley

Joe Biden (D)

November 15, 2024 -

University of Illinois, Chicago, 1992

DePaul College of Law, 1997


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 4
  • Republican appointed: 0

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Richard Mills

Ronald Reagan (R)

October 7, 1997 -

Illinois College, 1951

Mercer University School of Law, 1957

Michael Mihm

Ronald Reagan (R)

October 1, 2009 -

Loras College, 1964

Saint Louis University School of Law, 1967

Joe McDade

George H.W. Bush (R)

February 28, 2010 -

Bradley University, 1959

University of Michigan Law School, 1963

Sue Myerscough

March 9, 2023 -

Southern Illinois University, 1973

Southern Illinois University Law School, 1980

James E. Shadid

Barack Obama (D)

September 27, 2024 -

Bradley University, 1979

University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School, 1983


Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 2
  • Republican appointed: 3

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Thomas Schanzle-Haskins

2014 -

Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University Law School

Eric I. Long

May 1, 2015 -

University of Illinois

Southern Illinois University Law School


Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information about the judges of the Central District of Illinois, see former federal judges of the Central District of Illinois.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Central District of Illinois (click for larger map)

The Central 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.

The courthouses are in Peoria, Rock Island, Springfield and Urbana.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024.

Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.


United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 1,673 1,734 1,547 4 27 418 24 9 11 54 5
2011 1,747 1,747 1,477 4 11 437 21 10 8 52 4
2012 2,028 1,669 1,965 4 0 507 23 9 10 61 4
2013 2,003 1,915 2,058 4 3 501 32 11 9 68 4
2014 1,810 1,879 1,991 4 0 453 31 14 11 80 5
2015 1,842 1,847 1,988 4 0 461 35 12 11 90 5
2016 1,981 2,016 1,946 4 0 495 30 11 11 108 7
2017 2,122 2,078 1,993 4 0 531 31 11 9 99 6
2018 1,884 1,885 1,995 4 0 471 29 11 9 91 6
2019 1,808 1,823 1,970 4 0 452 28 13 10 77 5
2020 2,015 1,638 2,346 4 0 504 19 14 10 125 7
2021 1,711 1,855 2,196 4 0 428 20 14 10 164 10
2022 1,700 1,804 2,105 4 0 425 30 18 12 185 11
2023 1,762 1,889 1,982 4 0 441 26 18 10 191 12
Average 1,863 1,841 1,969 4 3 466 27 12 10 103 7

History

Illinois was established as one judicial district by Congress on March 3, 1819, with one post to cover the entire state. The district court was not yet assigned to a judicial circuit and was therefore granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.

Congress repealed the circuit court jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Illinois on March 3, 1837, established a United States circuit court within the district, and assigned it to the Seventh Circuit.

Illinois was divided into two judicial districts on February 13, 1855. The districts were known as the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of Illinois. One judgeship was assigned to each district, and the District of Illinois was assigned to the Northern District of Illinois.

Congress reorganized the circuits on July 15, 1862, and assigned Illinois to the Eighth Circuit, and then to the Seventh Circuit on July 23, 1866.

The Eastern District of Illinois was established on March 3, 1905. One judgeship was authorized for the district court, as well as an additional judgeship for the Northern District of Illinois. Illinois was again reorganized into the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of Illinois, and the Southern District of Illinois on October 2, 1978. Thirteen judgeships were assigned for the Northern District of Illinois, two for the Central District of Illinois, and two for the Southern District of Illinois. Over time, two additional judicial posts were added for a total of four current posts.[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Central District of Illinois:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
March 3, 1819 3 Stat. 502 1
October 2, 1978 92 Stat. 883 2
March 30, 1979 93 Stat. 6 3
November 2, 2002 116 Stat. 1758 4

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Justia.com-Dockets and Filings-Central District of Illinois.

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Central District of Illinois in Peoria, Urbana, Springfield, and Rock Island.[8]

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through November 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Bill Clinton had the most district court appointments with 169.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Magistrate Judgeships," accessed April 29, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "History of the Central District of Illinois," accessed April 30, 2021
  8. ↑ Central District of Illinois, "Court locations," accessed April 30, 2021
  9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"



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