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John Z. Lee
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office September 9, 2022
Appointed by	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Diane Wood
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
In office May 8, 2012 – September 12, 2022
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	David H. Coar
Succeeded by	Lindsay C. Jenkins
Personal details
Born	John Zihun Lee (1968-03-30) March 30, 1968 (age 56) Aachen, West Germany (now Germany)
Education	Harvard University (AB, JD)

John Zihun Lee (born March 30, 1968) is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2012 to 2022.

Biography

Lee was born in Aachen, Germany. He graduated from Harvard College in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, and from Harvard Law School in 1992 with a Juris Doctor, cum laude.

He first worked as a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division. He worked as an associate at Mayer Brown, a white shoe Chicago law firm, from 1994 to 1996 and the boutique law firm of Grippo & Elden LLC from 1996 to 1999. He was a partner at Freeborn & Peters LLP in Chicago, where he handled complex federal civil litigation. In the fall of 2000, he was an adjunct professor at The John Marshall Law School teaching a course on antitrust law. In the fall terms of 1990 and 1991, while a teaching fellow at Harvard University, he taught a class on Greek mythology.

Federal judicial service

District court service

On November 10, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Lee to be a United States district judge for the Northern District of Illinois. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge David H. Coar, who assumed senior status on August 12, 2009. Lee received his hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 26, 2012, and his nomination was favorably reported by the committee on February 16, 2012, by a voice vote, with Senator Mike Lee recording the only no vote. On May 7, 2012, his nomination was confirmed by a voice vote. He received his commission on May 8, 2012. His service as a district judge was terminated on September 12, 2022, when he was elevated to the court of appeals.

Notable rulings

In July 2018, Lee, sitting by designation, wrote for the unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Doe No. 55 v. Madison Metropolitan School District when it found that the Madison Metropolitan School District was not liable for child sex abuse of a student by its security guard because the school's principal had not had actual knowledge of the abuse. This decision was affirmed en banc.

On May 3, 2020, Lee ruled that Governor J. B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois was constitutional, after an Evangelical church sought an injunction against the order in order to continue worship services.

Court of appeals service

On April 13, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lee to serve as a United States circuit judge for the Seventh Circuit. On April 25, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Lee to the seat to be vacated by Judge Diane Wood, who announced her intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. On May 11, 2022, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his confirmation hearing, Republican senators criticized him over his decision to uphold J. B. Pritzker's stay-at-home order, which limited in-person church services. On June 9, 2022, his nomination was favorably reported by the committee by a 12–8–2 vote. On August 7, 2022, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on his nomination. On September 6, 2022, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 48–42 vote. On September 7, 2022, his nomination was confirmed by a 50–44 vote. He received his judicial commission on September 9, 2022. He is the first Asian American judge to ever serve on the 7th Circuit.

See also

• List of Asian American jurists
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Illinois

References

1. ^ "Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire" (PDF).
2. "Judge John Lee – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit". April 25, 2022.
3. ^ "President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the US District Court Bench". whitehouse.gov. November 10, 2011. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2022 – via National Archives.
4. ^ John Z. Lee at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
5. "Results of Executive Business Meeting - February 16, 2012" (PDF). February 16, 2012.
6. "PN1116 - Nomination of John Z. Lee for the Judiciary, 112th Congress (2011-2012)". May 7, 2012.
7. , Recent Case: Seventh Circuit Holds School Not Liable in Case of Child Sex Abuse, 132 Harv. L. Rev. 1550 (2019).
8. Doe No. 55 v. Madison Metropolitan School District, 897 F.3d 819 (7th Cir. 2018).
9. C.S. v. Madison Metro. Sch. Dist., No. 17-1521, --- F.4th ----, 2022 WL 1466249 (7th Cir. May 10, 2022).
10. Pope, Ben (May 3, 2020). "U.S. district judge rules Pritzker's stay-at-home order constitutional". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
11. "President Biden Names Sixteenth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. April 3, 2022. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
12. "Nominations and Withdrawals Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. April 25, 2022. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
13. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. May 10, 2022.
14. Raymond, Nate. "Republicans grill Biden judicial pick for upholding COVID-19 religious service curbs". Reuters.
15. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 9, 2022" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
16. "PN1965 — John Z. Lee — The Judiciary". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
17. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: John Z. Lee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit)". United States Senate. September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
18. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: John Z. Lee, of Illinois, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit)". United States Senate. September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
19. Raymond, Nate (September 8, 2022). "Senate Democrats kick-off post-recess judicial nominee push with first vote". Reuters. Retrieved June 10, 2023.

External links

• John Z. Lee at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• John Z. Lee at Ballotpedia

• 1968 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American judges
• American jurists of Korean descent
• Harvard Law School alumni
• Illinois lawyers
• Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• United States court of appeals judges appointed by Joe Biden
• United States Department of Justice lawyers
• United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama
• Harvard College alumni