Joan B. Gottschall

Joan Beth Gottschall^[1] (born April 23, 1947)^[2] is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Joan B. Gottschall
Gottschall in 2019
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Incumbent
Assumed office April 23, 2012
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
In office August 1, 1996 – April 23, 2012
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	James Byron Moran
Succeeded by	Sara L. Ellis
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
In office 1984–1996
Personal details
Born	(1947-04-23) April 23, 1947 (age 78) Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.
Education	Smith College (BA) Stanford University (JD)

Education and career

Gottschall was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1973.^[3] She was then in private practice in Chicago, Illinois, until 1976, and again from 1978 to 1982, serving as a staff attorney of the Federal Defender Program in Chicago from 1976 to 1978. She was a staff attorney in the legal office of the University of Chicago from 1982 to 1984.^[4]

Federal judicial service

She served as a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1984 to 1996. On March 29, 1996, Gottschall was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by James Byron Moran. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 25, 1996,^[5] and received her commission on August 1, 1996. She took senior status on April 23, 2013.^[6]