Charles Petros Kocoras (born March 12, 1938) is a

Senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Education and career

Born to

Greek immigrants Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest ...

in Chicago, Illinois, Kocoras grew up speaking Greek in his home. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from DePaul University in 1961 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from DePaul University College of Law in 1969. He served in the Illinois Army National Guard from 1961 to 1967 and became a sergeant. He was in private practice in Chicago from 1969 to 1971, and from 1979 to 1980. He was the First

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

of the Northern District of Illinois from 1971 to 1977. He has served as an

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of the John Marshall Law School since 1975. He was Chairman of the

Illinois Commerce Commission The Illinois Commerce Commission is a quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates public utility services in the U.S. state of Illinois. The mission of the ICC is "to pursue an appropriate balance between the interest of consumers and existing and emer ...

from 1977 to 1979.

Federal judicial service

On June 2, 1980, Kocoras was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by Judge Alfred Younges Kirkland Sr. Kocoras was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 29, 1980, and received his commission on September 30, 1980. He served as

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

from 2002 to 2006, assuming senior status on June 30, 2006.

Notable cases

Kocoras presided over the September 2006 suit brought by

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company e360 Insight against the anti-spam organization Spamhaus. He awarded e360 a

default judgement Default may refer to: Law * Default (law), the failure to do something required by law ** Default (finance), failure to satisfy the terms of a loan obligation or failure to pay back a loan ** Default judgment, a binding judgment in favor of ei ...

totaling $11.7m in damages, an amount reduced to just $3 on appeal. In January 2014, Kocoras sentenced Ty Warner, the billionaire sole owner of Ty Inc. (maker of Beanie Babies and other plush toys), for failing to declare and pay income tax on earnings in a Swiss bank account. Warner paid $80 million, including $75 million in interest and penalties, but was sentenced to no jail time due to the judge's respect for his exceptionally generous ongoing philanthropy.Smith, Brya
"Behind the Beanie Babies: The Secret Life of Ty Warner"
'Chicago' Magazine, April 21, 2014.

References

Sources

* 1938 births Living people Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges American people of Greek descent United States Army non-commissioned officers DePaul University alumni DePaul University College of Law alumni Lawyers from Chicago Illinois lawyers Assistant United States Attorneys 21st-century American judges Illinois National Guard personnel {{US-federal-judge-stub