John W. Darrah (December 11, 1938 – March 23, 2017) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

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 ...

Education and career

Born in

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

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 ...

, Darrah received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

in 1965 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

Loyola University Chicago School of Law Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the law school of Loyola University Chicago, in Illinois. Established in 1909, by the Society of Jesus, the Roman Catholic order of the Jesuits, the School of Law is located in downtown Chicago. Loyol ...

in 1969. He was an attorney advisor for the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

from 1969 to 1971. He was a deputy public defender in the DuPage County Public Defender Office from 1971 to 1973. He was in private practice in

from 1971 to 1973. He also began teaching as an adjunct professor in the

Northern Illinois University College of Law Northern Illinois University College of Law (NIU Law) is one of four public law schools in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is one of two public law schools in the Chicago area. The College of Law was founded as the Lewis University College of Law ...

in 1972. He was an Assistant state's attorney of Office of State's Attorney, Illinois from 1973 to 1976. He was in private practice in

from 1976 to 1986. He was a Circuit court judge of the Illinois 18th Judicial Circuit Court from 1986 to 2000. He was instrumental in establishing Keith Roberts Trial Advocacy Program that the Du Page County Bar Association has been putting on for lawyers since about 1995 – a program that concluded one on its programs on March 18, 2017, just days before his death.

Federal judicial service

On May 11, 2000, Darrah was nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

to a seat on the

vacated by George Michael Marovich. Darrah 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 June 30, 2000, and received his commission on July 14, 2000. He continued to teach as an adjunct professor at

The John Marshall Law School University of Illinois Chicago School of Law is a public law school in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1899, the school offers programs for both part-time and full-time students, with both day and night classes available, and offers January enroll ...

, teaching evidence and trial advocacy. He assumed

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

on March 1, 2017, serving in that status until his death on March 23, 2017, at his residence in Lisle, Illinois."John Darrah, served 17 years as federal judge in Chicago, dies" ''Chicago Tribune'', March 24, 2017
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References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darrah, John W. 1938 births 2017 deaths Illinois state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni Northern Illinois University faculty Public defenders Lawyers from Chicago 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges