Thomas John Whelan (born February 21, 1940) is a senior United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of California The United States District Court for the Southern District of California (in case citations, S.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

Early life and education

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Whelan 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 the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

in 1961 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 San Diego School of Law The University of San Diego School of Law (USD Law) is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It ...

in 1965.

Career

Whelan was a contracts administrator, planner and estimator for General Dynamics Corp. from 1961 to 1969. He was a deputy district attorney of San Diego from 1969 to 1989.

Judicial service

Whelan was a judge on the

Superior Court of California Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

from 1990 to 1998. As a superior court judge, Whelan presided over the infamous

Betty Broderick Elisabeth Anne Broderick (née Bisceglia; born November 7, 1947) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her ex-husband, Daniel T. Broderick III, and his second wife, Linda (née Kolkena) Broderick, on November 5, 1989. At a second t ...

trials in San Diego. Whelan is a United States District Judge of the

. Whelan 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 ...

on June 4, 1998, to a seat vacated by John Skylstead Rhoades Sr. He 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 October 21, 1998, and received his commission on October 22, 1998. 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 August 15, 2010. Notable cases that Whelan has presided over on the district bench include: * In 2003, Whelan was the judge assigned to a lawsuit brought by the

Imperial Irrigation District The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is an irrigation district that serves the Imperial Valley in Southern California. Established under the State Water Code, the IID supplies roughly of Imperial Valley farmland with raw Colorado River water ...

(representing farmers in the

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

, California), against the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

, challenging the federal government's 11% cut in

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

water allocated to farmers. In 2003, Whelan ordered a reversal in the cuts pending the resolution of the suit. * In 2004, Whelan denied the Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians's motion for a

temporary restraining order An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...

seeking to block California Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

's new compacts with five other Indian tribes allowing them to establish

casinos Casinos may refer to: * Casinos, Valencia, municipality in Spain * David Casinos (born 1972), Spanish Paralympian athlete * The Casinos, an American popular music group See also *Casino (disambiguation) A casino is a facility that houses and accom ...

in exchange for the tribes contributing a share of the revenue to the State of California. Whelan held that Schwarzenegger had the power to enter into compacts with the tribes on behalf of California. * In 2020, Whelan presided over the criminal case of

Duncan D. Hunter Duncan Duane Hunter (born December 7, 1976) is an American former politician and United States Marine who served as a U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party, who was first elected to the House in 2008 ...

, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal $150,000 in his campaign funds for personal use. Whelan sentenced Hunter to 11 months in prison.Neil Vigdor
Duncan Hunter Sentenced to 11 Months in Prison for Stealing Campaign Funds
''New York Times'' (March 17, 2020).

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Thomas J. 1940 births Living people California state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California People from San Diego Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton University of San Diego alumni University of San Diego School of Law alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges