John F. Kness

John Fitzgerald Kness (born 1969) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to becoming a judge, Kness served as General Counsel of the College of DuPage.

John F. Kness
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Assumed office
February 18, 2020
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded bySamuel Der-Yeghiayan
Personal details
Born1969 (age 51–52)
Chicago, Illinois
EducationNorthwestern University (B.A., J.D.)

Education

Kness earned his Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.[1]

Kness has spent his legal career engaged approximately equally in private practice and in criminal prosecution. In the private sector, Kness worked mostly in general litigation. As a prosecutor, Kness worked exclusively on criminal prosecutions. Kness handled seven jury and one bench trials, all criminal.[2]

He has experience in law enforcement, having served as a patrol officer for the Oak Park Police Department prior to law school. After graduating law school, Kness served as a law clerk to Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2004 to 2005. From 2009 to 2016, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, with stints in the National Security and Cybercrimes, Narcotics, and General Crimes Sections.[1]

From 2016 to 2020, he served as the General Counsel of the College of DuPage, where he oversaw all legal matters at the second-largest institution of higher learning in Illinois.[1]

Federal judicial service

On June 11, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Kness to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On June 24, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Kness to the seat vacated by Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, who retired on February 17, 2018.[3] On July 17, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[4] On October 17, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 19–3 vote.[5] On February 11, 2020, the Senate voted 82–12 to invoke cloture on his nomination.[6] On February 12, 2020, the Senate confirmed his nomination by an 81–12 vote.[7] He received his judicial commission on February 18, 2020.

Memberships

He has been an intermittent member of the Federalist Society since 2004.[8]

References
  1. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees" White House, June 11, 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Voruganti, Harsh (July 24, 2019). "John Kness – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois". Vetting Room. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  3. "Thirteen Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate", White House, June 24, 2019
  4. "Nominations", United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for July 17, 2019
  5. Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 17, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
  6. "On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture: John Fitzgerald Kness to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  7. "On the Nomination: Confirmation: John Fitzgerald Kness, of Illinois, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  8. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: John Fitzgerald Kness
Legal offices
Preceded by
Samuel Der-Yeghiayan		 Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2020–present		 Incumbent
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