Ilana Kara Diamond Rovner (born August 21, 1938) is a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Il ...

. Rovner was the first woman appointed to the Seventh Circuit. She was previously a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois ar ...

Early life, education and career

Rovner was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. While an infant, she and her mother immigrated to the United States during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from Latvia to escape its occupation by Nazi Germany. She earned her Artium Baccalaureus degree from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in 1960. She studied at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

for one year and attended

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

for two years before moving to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She received 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

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

in 1966. She was a legal researcher for Richard J. Phelan of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1971. She was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge

James Benton Parsons James Benton Parsons (August 13, 1911 – June 19, 1993) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He was the first African American to serve as a judge in a U.S. district cour ...

of the

from 1972 to 1973. She was an

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 1973 to 1977, serving as Deputy Chief of the Public Protection Unit from 1975 to 1976 and Chief of the Public Protection Unit from 1976 to 1977. She was a deputy governor and legal counsel for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

James R. Thompson James Robert Thompson Jr. (May 8, 1936 – August 14, 2020), also known as Big Jim Thompson, was an American attorney and politician who served as the 37th governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991. A moderate Republican who sometimes took more ...

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

from 1977 to 1984.

Federal judicial service

On June 19, 1984, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

nominated Rovner to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Joel Flaum Joel Martin Flaum (born November 26, 1936) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern Distri ...

. She 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 12, 1984, and received commission the same day. Her service was terminated on August 17, 1992, due to elevation to the Seventh Circuit. On July 2, 1992, President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

nominated Rovner to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Harlington Wood Jr. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 12, 1992, and received commission on August 17, 1992.

Notable cases

On April 20, 2018, Rovner ruled against Trump's policy punishing

sanctuary cities Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...

. She said allowing federal agencies to add conditions to grant funds without explicit congressional authority could lead to "tyranny." Rovner wrote, "The Attorney General in this case used the sword of federal funding to conscript state and local authorities to aid in federal civil immigration enforcement. But the power of the purse rests with Congress, which authorized the federal funds at issue and did not impose any immigration enforcement conditions on the receipt of such funds. It falls to us, the judiciary, as the remaining branch of the government, to act as a check on such usurpation of power." Rovner was joined by

William J. Bauer William Joseph Bauer (born September 15, 1926) is an inactive senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and previously a United States district judge of the United States District ...

upholding the nationwide injunction against the policy.

Daniel Anthony Manion Daniel Anthony Manion (born February 1, 1942) is an American lawyer, politician, and jurist serving as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit whose chambers are in South Bend, Indiana. ...

partially dissented, saying he would narrow the injunction to protect only Chicago. On August 27, 2019, Rovner joined David Hamilton in blocking Indiana's parental notification requirement for abortions. Michael Kanne dissented. On November 1, 2019, the 7th circuit denied en banc by a vote of 6–5, with Rovner in the majority.

Frank Easterbrook Frank Hoover Easterbrook (born September 3, 1948) is an American lawyer, jurist, and legal scholar who has served as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 1985. He was the Seventh Circuit's chief ...

, who provided a decisive vote, called on the Supreme Court to hear the case. In July 2020, the Supreme Court ordered a re-hearing in the case. Wolfe, Jan (September 20, 2020). "Notable opinions of U.S. Supreme Court contender Amy Coney Barrett". Reuters. Retrieved September 20, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rovner, Ilana Kara Diamond 1938 births 20th-century American judges Alumni of King's College London American people of Latvian-Jewish descent Assistant United States Attorneys Bryn Mawr College alumni Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Illinois lawyers Illinois Republicans Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Latvian emigrants to the United States Latvian World War II refugees Latvian Jews Living people Politicians from Chicago United States court of appeals judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Women in Illinois politics Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni 20th-century American women judges