U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley has been tapped by the Biden Administration to replace Judge James Shadid, who will take senior status next month.

Background

A native of Central Illinois, Hawley was born in Peoria in 1971. He received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1992 and a J.D. cum laude from DePaul University College of Law in 1997. Hawley then clerked for Judge Michael McCuskey on the Illinois Third District Appellate Court and then continued with McCuskey when the latter was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Hawley then clerked for Justice James Heiple on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Hawley subsequently joined the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of Illinois.

In 2014, Hawley became a federal magistrate judge in the Central District of Illinois, where he still works.

History of the Seat

Hawley has been nominated for a future vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, which Judge James Shadid will vacate on September 27, 2024. On April 12, 2024, Illinois Senators Durbin and Duckworth recommended Hawley for the seat alongside state judges Katherine Legge and Christopher Doscotch and Assistant Public Defender Mohammad Ahmed . Hawley was nominated for the seat on July 3, 2024.

Legal Career

Before he became a judge, Hawley spent his entire legal career as an assistant federal public defender for the Central District of Illinois. Hawley rose to be Chief Public Defender with the office, in which capacity he represented the petitioner before the U.S. Supreme Court in a suit arguing that the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the disparity in penalties between powder and crack cocaine, applied to offenders who committed offenses before the effectiveness of the Act but were sentenced after. See Dorsey v. United States, 567 U.S. 260 (2012). The Supreme Court agreed in a 5-4 decision. See id.

Hawley was also part of the legal team representing Benjamin Robers, arguing that the district court erred in awarding restitution in a mortgage fraud case based on the value lost by the bank from the sales of the properties rather than the value of the seizure of the properties. Robers v. United States, 572 U.S. 639 (2014). This time, the Supreme Court unanimously disagreed. See id.

Jurisprudence

Since 2014, Hawley has served as a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. As a magistrate judge, Hawley writes reports and recommendations for district judges, supervises discovery disputes and settlements, and hears cases by consent of the parties.

Many of Hawley’s most notable cases arose from prisoner litigation alleging violations of their rights and/or negligence. In one case, Hawley found that prison doctors were not negligent in failing to diagnose a prisoner’s appendicitis, a decision affirmed by the Seventh Circuit. See Brown v. Osmundson, 38 F.4th 545 (7th Cir. 2022).

Among reversals Hawley has seen, the Seventh Circuit reversed his grant of summary judgment to a doctor who waited seven weeks to send a prisoner back to an orthopedic surgeon (the surgeon had previously recommended that the prisoner return after three weeks). See Zaya v. Sood, 836 F.3d 800 (7th Cir. 2016). In another case, the Seventh Circuit reversed Hawley’s dismissal of a prisoner’s lawsuit upon a finding that the prisoner’s submission included fraudulent statements. See Sanders v. Melvin, 25 F.4th 475 (7th Cir. 2022). The Seventh Circuit reversed, finding that the finding of fraud was clearly erroneous and that Hawley erred in failing to consider sanctions short of dismissal. See id. at 478.

Overall Assessment

During the confirmation process, Hawley may draw questions regarding some of his reversals as a Magistrate Judge. But, nonetheless, Hawley should be able to be confirmed if he avoids further controversy.

Three years onto the state court bench, Judge Colleen Lawless has been nominated for a seat for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

Background

Born Colleen Rae Schuster, Lawless received a B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2005 and a J.D. from Northern Illinois University School of Law in 2009.

After graduation, Lawless joined Londrigan, Potter & Randle P.C., becoming a shareholder with the firm.

In 2019, Lawless became an associate judge on the Illinois 7th district Circuit Court. She currently serves on the court.

History of the Seat

Lawless has been nominated for a future vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, which Judge Sue Myerscough has indicated will open upon the confirmation of a successor. In June 2022, Lawless was recommended by Illinois’ Democratic Senators Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth for the seat alongside Chicago attorney Johanes Maliza and University of Illinois attorney Rhonda Perry.

Legal Career

Before she became a judge, Lawless spent her entire legal career at Londrigan, Potter & Randle P.C. in Springfield.

At the firm, Lawless handled civil litigation, including representing a plaintiff suing her insurance company in seeking coverage regarding her stay in a facility (the company disputed whether the facility qualifies as a nursing home for benefit purposes). See Perry v. Transamerica Life Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67973 (C.D. Ill. July 8, 2010). She also represented Marvin Manns, an African American water maintenance worker who sued the City of Decatur for discrimination after he was terminated after refusing to sign an agreement that gave him a lower pay but allowed him to bypass civil service selection rules. See Manns v. City of Decatur, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82780 (C.D. Ill. July 28, 2011) (granting summary judgment to defendants).

Lawless has also handled class action suits, including a Fair Labor Standards Act suit against Treasure Hunters Roadshow. See Lee v. THR & Associates, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 208963 (C.D. Ill. Apr. 5, 2013).

Jurisprudence

Since 2019, Lawless has served as a judge on the Illinois 7th Judicial Circuit Court, which covers the Springfield area. As a Circuit Court judge, Lawless handles civil and criminal trial-level cases, as well as administrative appeals.

Among the cases that Lawless handled on the bench, she denied an emergency motion from Sean Shea seeking the return of his minor child, who had left the state with the mother. See Cagwin v. Shea, 2022 IL App (4th) 210619-U (Ill. App. Mar. 11, 2022). An appellate court affirmed Lawless’ decision, finding that she appropriately found that injunctive relief was inappropriate.

Overall Assessment

With a career focused on civil cases (which usually draw less controversy), and an uneventful tenure on the state bench, Lawless should be unlikely to draw much ire through the confirmation process. Nonetheless, this may also be why Democrats choose to deprioritize her nomination, pushing more controversial names through while they retain their majority.