Steven Seeger

Northern District of Illinois
	Seventh Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 23
	Judges: 23
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Virginia Kendall
	Active judges: Georgia Alexakis, Jorge L. Alonso, John Robert Blakey, Edmond E. Chang, Sharon Coleman, Jeffrey Cummings, Jeremy Daniel, Robert Dow, Sara Lee Ellis, Sunil Harjani, LaShonda A. Hunt, Lindsay Jenkins, Iain David Johnston, Virginia Kendall, John Kness, Martha Pacold, April Perry, Mary Rowland, Steven Seeger, Manish Shah, John Tharp Jr., Franklin Ulyses Valderrama, Andrea R. Wood; Senior judges:; Marvin Aspen, Elaine Bucklo, Suzanne Conlon, Thomas M. Durkin, Robert Gettleman, Joan Gottschall, Ronald Guzman, Frederick Kapala, Matthew Kennelly, Charles Kocoras, Joan Lefkow, George Marovich, Charles Norgle, Rebecca Pallmeyer, Philip Reinhard, James Zagel

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Steven Seeger
	Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Progress
	Confirmed 450 days after nomination.
	Nominated: June 18, 2018
	ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: August 22, 2018
	QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: October 11, 2018 (first) / June 20, 2019 (second)
	Confirmed: September 11, 2019
	Vote: 90-1

Steven C. Seeger is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Seeger to a seat on this court.^[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Seeger, 90-1, on September 11, 2019.^[2] He received commission on September 13, 2019.^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Seeger was the senior trial counsel in the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2010 to 2019.^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2018)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Seeger to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.^[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Seeger, 90-1, on September 11, 2019.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Seeger on September 11, 2019, on a vote of 90-1.^[2] Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was the sole senator to vote against Seeger. To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Seeger confirmation vote (September 11, 2019)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	39	1	6
Republican	51	0	2
Independent	1	0	1
Total	90	1	9

Change in Senate rules

See also:

Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress

Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

United States federal courts

Seeger was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.^[5]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.^[6]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.^[7] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Seeger's nomination on August 22, 2018. On October 11, 2018, the committee voted by voice vote to advance Seeger's nomination to the full Senate.^[8]^[1] The committee voted a second time, 19-3, to advance his nomination to the full Senate on June 20, 2019.^[9]

Nomination

On June 7, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) announced his intent to nominate Seeger to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.^[10] The president officially nominated Seeger on June 18, 2018. Seeger was nominated to succeed Judge James Zagel, who assumed senior status on October 21, 2016.^[1]

At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Seeger's nomination to the president.^[1]^[11]

Trump announced his intent to renominate Seeger on April 8, 2019.^[12] The second nomination was officially sent to the Senate on May 21, 2019.^[13]

Sens. Dick Durbin (D) and Tammy Duckworth (D) of Illinois supported Seeger's nomination. Durbin and Duckworth said, referring to Seeger, Mary Rowland, and Martha Pacold, "We are pleased that the President has nominated these three Illinoisans. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve with distinction as district court judges in the Northern District of Illinois. We appreciate the Administration’s willingness to work with us and with our nonpartisan screening committee to reach consensus on nominees who will serve the people of Illinois well. We look forward to guiding these nominations through the Senate."^[14]

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Seeger well qualified for the position.^[15] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Early life and education

Seeger was born in 1971 in Normal, Illinois. He earned his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Wheaton College in 1993. He obtained his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was Order of the Coif, in 1997. During his legal studies, Seeger served as an associate and articles editor of the University of Michigan Law Review.^[10]^[4]

Professional career

2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2010-2019: Senior trial counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
1996-2010: Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
- 2003-2010: Partner
- 1998-2003: Associate
1997-1998: Law clerk to Judge David Sentelle, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit^[10]^[4]

Awards and associations

Awards

2018, 2016, 2014, 2013: SEC Division of Enforcement Director's Award^[4]

Associations

2010-present: Member, Arbor Day Foundation
2002-2015: Member, International Wolf Center^[4]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is one of 94 United States district courts. The district operates out of Chicago and Rockford, Illinois. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit located in the same courthouse as the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago.

The Northern District of Illinois has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Eastern Division, covering Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake County, LaSalle, and Will counties

The Western Division, covering Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago counties

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.