John Robert "Jack" Blakey (born August 1965) is 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
and former
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 ...
prosecutor.
Biography
Blakey was born in 1965 in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
. He is the son of
G. Robert Blakey
George Robert Blakey (born January 7, 1936) is an United States, American Attorneys in the United States, attorney and law professor. He is best known for his work in connection with drafting the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Ac ...
, a professor emeritus at the
University of Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic Church, Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among th ...
and authority on the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
RICO was en ...
.
Blakey received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in 1988 from the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
. He received a Certificate of Fine Arts in 1989 from the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools.
LAMDA's Principal is ...
. He 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 ...
in 1992 from
Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...
. He served as 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 ...
to Judge
William J. Zloch of the
from 1992 to 1994. He worked at the law firm of Vedder, Price, Kaufman & Kammholz, P.C., from 1995 to 1996. From 1996 to 2000, he served as an assistant state's attorney in the Office of the
Cook County State's Attorney
The Cook County State's Attorney functions as the state of Illinois's district attorney for Cook County, Illinois, and heads the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States. The office has over 700 attorneys and 1,100 employees. In ad ...
. He served as 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 ...
in the Southern District of Florida from 2000 to 2004 and in the Northern District of Illinois from 2004 to 2009. From 2009 to 2014, he served as both the chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau for the Office of the Cook County State's Attorney and as a special assistant United States attorney in the Northern District of Illinois.
Federal judicial service
On August 5, 2014, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
nominated Blakey to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, to the seat vacated by Judge
James F. Holderman, who 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 December 31, 2013. He received a hearing before the
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
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, a ...
for September 9, 2014. On November 20, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
.
On December 13, 2014
Senate Majority Leader
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
filed a motion to invoke
cloture
Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...
on the nomination. On December 16, 2014, Reid withdrew his cloture motion, and the Senate proceeded to confirm Blakey in a
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
. He received his judicial commission on December 19, 2014.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blakey, John Robert
1965 births
Living people
21st-century American judges
Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Assistant United States Attorneys
Florida lawyers
Illinois lawyers
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Notre Dame Law School alumni
People from South Bend, Indiana
United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama