Robert Thomas
From Judgepedia
| Robert Thomas | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| Illinois Supreme Court | |
| Title: | Justice |
| Position: | Second District |
| Service: | |
| Active: | 2000-present |
| Chief: | 2005-2008 |
| Past position: | Appellate Court, Second District |
| Past term: | 1994-2000 |
| Past position: | Judge |
| Personal History | |
| Born: | August 7, 1952 |
| Party: | Republican |
| Bachelors: | University of Notre Dame, 1974 |
| Law School: | Loyola University School of Law, 1981 |
Contents |
Robert R. Thomas is an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Second District. Thomas also served as the court's chief justice from 2005-2008.
Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court are elected to serve ten-year terms in partisan elections. Justice Thomas was retained in 2010 to a new term that expires in 2020.[1]
Education
Thomas received his B.A. in Government from the University of Notre Dame in 1974. In 1981, he received his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law.[2]
Professional career
For the first ten years of his career, Thomas was a kicker for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League. In 1988, he was first elected as a Circuit Court Judge in DuPage County. From 1989 to 1994, he was the Acting Chief Judge from 1989 to 1994. In 1994, Judge Thomas was elected to the Appellate Court Second District. On December 4, 2000, Justice Thomas was sworn in as the Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the Second District. [3]
Defamation of character lawsuit
In 2007, Justice Thomas was awarded $7 million in a successful defamation of character lawsuit against Bill Page, a former columnist at the Kane County Chronicle. The justice's lawyers alleged that Mr. Page had essentially accused him of official misconduct, a felony, when he wrote in his column that he had traded his vote on a disciplinary case in exchange for political support for his favored candidate in a local judicial race. The case was significant because it prompted an Illinois appellate court to establish a judicial privilege in Illinois, allowing judicial deliberations to be kept private, much like doctor-patient discussions.[4] The jury award was subsequently lowered by the trial judge to $4 million.[5] Bill Page and Shaw Suburban Media Group, Inc. countersued in U.S. District Court in June of 2007 [6].
Awards and Associations
- 1999 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
- 1996 Inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame
- Member of the DuPage County Bar Association[2]
2010 re-election campaign
- See also: Illinois judicial elections, 2010
Robert Thomas was retained with 81.01% of the vote a new term on the Second District of the Illinois Supreme Court.[1][7]
Endorsements
The Chicago Sun Times endorse Thomas for retention to another term. [8]
External links
- Biography of Robert Thomas
- UPI.com, "Ex-Ill. Gov. Ryan loses pension rights", February 19, 2010
- The New York Times, "A Judge at the Plaintiff's Table Tips the Scales", June 25, 2007
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Illinois State Board of Elections: 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Illinois Courts, Robert R. Thomas, Supreme Court Justice
- ↑ John Marshall Law School, "Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas Will Address John Marshall Graduates May 18"
- ↑ New York Times article
- ↑ Judge sues writer
- ↑ Chicago Reader
- ↑ [http://www.myfoxchicago.com/generic/news/elections/election_results/supreme-court-illinois-general-election-20101102 FOX Chicago News: Supreme Court Election Results ]
- ↑ Chicago Sun Times "Vote 'Yes' for Kilbride; 'No' for 3 other judges", October 20, 2010
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|---|---|---|---|
| Current |
Robert Thomas • Lloyd Karmeier • Charles Freeman • Rita Garman • Thomas Kilbride • Mary Jane Theis • Anne M. Burke • | ||
| Former | Mary Ann McMorrow • Thomas R. Fitzgerald • | ||
