Martha M. Pacold

Martha M. Pacold
Pacold in 2019
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Incumbent
Assumed office August 19, 2019
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	John W. Darrah
Personal details
Born	(1979-02-03) February 3, 1979 (age 45) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Education	Indiana University (BA) University of Chicago (JD)

Martha Maria Pacold (born February 3, 1979) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Education

Pacold was educated at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago.^[1][2] She earned her Bachelor of Arts with highest distinction from Indiana University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and her Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review.^[3][4]

Career

After graduating from law school, Pacold served as a law clerk for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2002 to 2003 and for Judge Jay Bybee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2003 to 2004. She later clerked for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States from 2004 to 2005.

During her career, she served as a Counsel to the Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice from 2005 to 2006 and a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2006 to 2007. She was previously an associate and then a partner in the Chicago office of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, LLP. Pacold was also a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School. She previously served as a Deputy General Counsel of the United States Department of the Treasury.^[3][5]

Federal judicial service

On June 7, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Pacold to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On June 11, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Pacold to the seat vacated by John W. Darrah, who assumed senior status on March 1, 2017.^[6] On August 22, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.^[7] On October 11, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 18–3 vote.^[8]

On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.^[9] On April 8, 2019, President Trump renominated Pacold to the same position.^[10] On May 21, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate.^[11] On June 20, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 18–4 vote.^[12] On July 30, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by an 86–2 vote.^[13] On July 31, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by a 87–3 vote.^[14] She received her judicial commission on August 19, 2019.^[15] She was sworn in on August 23, 2019.^[16]

On September 9, 2020, President Trump included her on a list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court.^[17]

Memberships

She was a member of the Federalist Society from approximately 2000–2008.^[18]

See also

• List of Asian American jurists
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Illinois
• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 10)
• Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates

References

1. Hlotke, Suzanne G. (June 18, 1995). "See, It Pays To Listen To Mother". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
2. "Recent St. Ignatius Law Society Members" (PDF). St. Ignatius Alumni. February 20, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
3. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Fifteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Fourteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Ninth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees" White House, June 7, 2018 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. "Wells Scholars Program" (PDF). Indiana University Newsletter. Summer 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2018.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. "Senior Executive Service; Legal Division Performance Review Board". Federal Register. 82: 50486. October 31, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
6. "Seventeen Nominations Sent to the Senate Today", White House, June 11, 2018
7. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for August 22, 2018
8. Results of Executive Business Meeting – October 11, 2018, Senate Judiciary Committee
9. Gregory, Patrick (January 23, 2019). "Trump Drops Obama Picks, N.Y., Calif. Names From Judges List". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
10. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominations", White House, April 8, 2019
11. "Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate", The White House, May 21, 2019
12. Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 20, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
13. On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Martha Maria Pacold to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois), United States Senate, July 30, 2019
14. On the Nomination (Confirmation: Martha Maria Pacold, of Illinois, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois), United States Senate, July 31, 2019
15. Martha M. Pacold at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
16. "Judge Martha M. Pacold Sworn-in as District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois" (PDF). ilnd.uscourts.gov. August 26, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
17. "Remarks by President Trump on Judicial Appointments"
18. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Martha Maria Pacold

External links

• Martha M. Pacold at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by John W. Darrah	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 2019–present	Incumbent