John Tharp

John Tharp

Senator Mark Kirk (far right) announces his recommendation of John Tharp (far left) to be appointed as a United States District Judge.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Assumed office
May 16, 2012
Appointed by Barack Obama
Preceded by Blanche Manning
Personal details
Born (1960-09-18) September 18, 1960
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater Duke University
Northwestern University

John Joseph "Jay" Tharp, Jr. (born September 18, 1960)[1] is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Biography

John J. Tharp, Jr. was born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.[1][2] He received his Artium Baccalaureus Degree, Summa cum Laude, from Duke University in 1982. Following his graduation, he served for five years in the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer, attaining the rank of Captain.[3] He received his Juris Doctor, Magna cum Laude, from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1990. He served as a law clerk for Judge Joel Martin Flaum of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1990 to 1991. He worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis from 1991 to 1992. He served as an assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1992 to 1997. From 1997 until 2012, he was an associate and then a partner at the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP. He was the co-chair of the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice at that firm.[4]

Federal judicial service

On July 31, 2008, President George W. Bush nominated Tharp to replace Blanche M. Manning on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.[5] The nomination was made with less than six months remaining in the Bush Presidency and was returned after not being acted upon by the 110th Congress.

On July 5, 2011, Senator Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, recommended to Barack Obama, a Democrat, that Tharp be appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.[6] The recommendation stemmed from a long-standing tradition in Illinois that, when the state is represented in the Senate by a Democrat and a Republican, the senator from the president's party gets to recommend candidates for two in every three judicial vacancies and the other senator chooses candidates for one in three.

On November 10, 2011, President Obama nominated John J. Tharp, Jr. to be a District Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, filling the vacancy created when Judge Blanche M. Manning took senior status in 2010.[4] Tharp received his hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 26, 2012 and his nomination was reported to the Senate floor on February 16, 2012 by a voice vote, with Senator Mike Lee recording the only no vote.

On May 14, 2012, the Senate voted 86–1 to confirm Tharp to the judgeship, with Senator Lee casting the lone nay vote.[7] "I'm honored by both the nomination and the confirmation," Tharp told the Chicago Tribune shortly after the vote. "It's a real credit to both our senators that they worked together to get this done."[8] He received his commission on May 16, 2012.[9]

Personal

Tharp lives in Oak Park, Illinois.[8]

References

Legal offices
Preceded by
Blanche Manning
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2012–present
Incumbent
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