Lindsay Jenkins

Northern District of Illinois
	Seventh Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 23
	Judges: 23
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Virginia Kendall
	Active judges: Georgia Alexakis, Jorge L. Alonso, John Robert Blakey, Edmond E. Chang, Sharon Coleman, Jeffrey Cummings, Jeremy Daniel, Robert Dow, Sara Lee Ellis, Sunil Harjani, LaShonda A. Hunt, Lindsay Jenkins, Iain David Johnston, Virginia Kendall, John Kness, Martha Pacold, April Perry, Mary Rowland, Steven Seeger, Manish Shah, John Tharp Jr., Franklin Ulyses Valderrama, Andrea R. Wood; Senior judges:; Marvin Aspen, Elaine Bucklo, Suzanne Conlon, Thomas M. Durkin, Robert Gettleman, Joan Gottschall, Ronald Guzman, Frederick Kapala, Matthew Kennelly, Charles Kocoras, Joan Lefkow, George Marovich, Charles Norgle, Rebecca Pallmeyer, Philip Reinhard, James Zagel

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Lindsay Jenkins
	Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Progress
	Confirmed 148 days after nomination.
	Nominated: September 19, 2022
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: October 12, 2022
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: December 1, 2022 (initial nomination)
	Confirmed: February 14, 2023
	Vote: 59 - 40

Lindsay Jenkins is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Shew was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on September 19, 2022, and confirmed by the United States Senate on February 14, 2023, by a vote of 59 - 40.^[1] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

Jenkins was a partner at Cooley LLP in Chicago, Illinois.^[2]

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 19, 2022, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Jenkins to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.^[2]^[3] Jenkins' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[4] The president renominated Jenkins on the same day.^[5]

Jenkins was confirmed by a 59 - 40 vote of the U.S. Senate on February 14, 2023.^[1] Jenkins received commission on February 24, 2023.^[6] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Jenkins by a vote of 59 - 40 on February 14, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Lindsay Jenkins confirmation vote (February 14, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	1
Republican	9	40	0
Independent	3	0	0
Total	59	40	1

Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a full Senate vote.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Jenkins' nomination on October 12, 2022. Jenkins was reported to the full Senate on December 1, 2022, after a 15-7 committee vote.^[7]

Jenkins' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[8] The president renominated Jenkins on the same day.^[5] In a committee hearing on February 2, 2023, Jenkins was reported to the full Senate, after a 14-6 committee vote.^[9]

Nomination

On July 14, 2022, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Jenkins to the Northern District of Illinois.^[2] The president officially nominated Jenkins on September 19, 2022.^[3] Jenkins' nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[10] The president renominated Jenkins on the same day.^[5]

Jenkins was nominated to replace Judge John Z. Lee, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.^[3]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Jenkins well qualified.^[11] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Education

Jenkins obtained a B.S. in business administration from Miami University of Ohio in 1998 and a J.D., summa cum laude, from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in 2002.^[12]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2021-2023: Partner, Cooley LLP
2006-2021: Assistant U.S. attorney, United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois
2004-2006: Associate, Jones Day
2002-2004: Law clerk to Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio^[2]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of Chicago and Rockford, Illinois. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit located in the same courthouse as the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

The Northern District of Illinois has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Eastern Division, covering Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake County, LaSalle, and Will counties

The Western Division, covering Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago counties

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.