Harold Albert Baker (born October 4, 1929) is a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (in case citations, C.D. Ill.) serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, C ...

, with chambers in Urbana,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. He was originally appointed to the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois (in case citations, E.D. Ill.) is a former federal district court for the state of Illinois. The court was established on March 3, 1905, by 33 Stat. 992. The Northern and South ...

in 1978 by

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

and then reassigned to the newly-created Central District in 1979. He became a senior judge in 1994. He was also a judge of the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants a ...

until 2005.

Education and career

Born in 1929, in Mt. Kisco, New York, Baker attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, then received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

in 1951. He was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1951 to 1953, obtaining the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. He received a Juris Doctor from

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S ...

in 1956.. Retrieved 2009-03-08. He was in private practice of law in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...

, from 1956 to 1978, and was an

adjunct faculty An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

member of the University of Illinois College of Law from 1972 to 1978. He was senior counsel for the United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States in 1975.

Federal judicial service

Baker was nominated by President

on August 9, 1978, to a seat vacated by Judge Henry Seiler Wise on the

. Baker was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on September 22, 1978, and received his commission on September 23, 1978. In 1978, the Eastern District and Southern District of Illinois were rearranged into the Southern District and Central District of Illinois. Baker was reassigned to the

on March 31, 1979, by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

. In the Central District he served as Chief Judge from 1984 to 1991, and assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on October 4, 1994. Baker was on the

from May 18, 1995 to May 18, 2005, having been appointed by Chief Justice

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...

. FISC judges serve seven-year terms.

References

External links

*
Judges Testimony at Senate FISA Hearing: The Transcripts
— transcripts of several former FISC judges, including Baker, in front of the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Harold 1929 births Living people 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Columbia University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court People from Mount Kisco, New York United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter United States Navy officers University of Illinois College of Law alumni University of Illinois faculty