Robert James Jonker (born March 9, 1960) 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

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan (in case citations, W.D. Mich.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over of the western portion of the state of Michigan, including the entire Upper Peninsula and t ...

Education and career

Born in Holland, Michigan, Jonker 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 from

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed (Calvinist) ...

in 1982 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 the University of Michigan Law School in 1985. He 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 John F. Feikens of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, from 1985 to 1987. He was in private practice in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, Michigan, from 1987 to 2007.

Federal judicial service

On March 19, 2007, Jonker was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to a seat on the

vacated by

Gordon Jay Quist Gordon Jay Quist (born November 12, 1937) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Education and career Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Quist received a Bachelor of Art ...

. Jonker 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 July 9, 2007, and received his commission on July 16, 2007. He became Chief Judge on July 18, 2015."Judicial Milestones: Robert James Jonker,uscourts.gov
/ref> and served until July 17, 2022.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonker, Robert James 1960 births Living people 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan People from Holland, Michigan United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Michigan Law School alumni