Thomas P. Sullivan was a prominent Illinois attorney known for his involvement in notable constitutional cases, investigations, and contributions to public policy and law. He was a partner at the

Jenner & Block Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The firm is active in corporate litigation, business transactions, the public sector, and other legal fields ...

law firm. He died May 18, 2021, at age 91.

Biography

Sullivan was counsel on a case leading to a landmark 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision, '' Witherspoon v. Illinois'', prohibiting trial judges and prosecutors from using

peremptory challenge In American and Australian law, the right of peremptory challenge is a right in jury selection for the attorneys to reject a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason. Other potential jurors may be challenged for cause, i.e. by ...

s to exclude potential jurors because of personal opposition to the death penalty. Over 350 inmates, including Witherspoon, had their death sentences reversed as a result. In 1971, he won a case before the Illinois Supreme Court, ''People v. McCabe'', which held that the state's statutory classification of marijuana as a "hard drug" was unconstitutional. From 1977 to 1981, Sullivan was the

United States Attorney 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 ...

under President

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 ...

. While U.S. Attorney, he initiated the

Operation Greylord Operation Greylord was an investigation conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the Illino ...

judicial sting operation. In 2000, Illinois governor

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...

appointed Sullivan to co-chair the Commission on Capital Punishment. The report included 85 recommendations for reform and helped persuade Ryan to commute all death sentences. In 2003, Sullivan received the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

John Minor Wisdom John Minor Wisdom (May 17, 1905 – May 15, 1999), one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a Republican from Louisiana, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during the 1950s and 1960s, when t ...

Award for his contributions to public service and the community. In 2004, he was named ''Chicago Lawyer'' magazine’s Person of the Year. In 2007, he received The American Lawyer's Lifetime Achievement Award. He has written on numerous topics, e.g., the treatment of

prisoners at Guantanamo Bay The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

. Sullivan attended

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree ...

and

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. Loy ...

, receiving a J.D. in 1952.

References

External links

Sullivan's biography at Jenner & Block's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Thomas P. Living people Illinois lawyers United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people) People associated with Jenner & Block