Senior District Judge Joan B. Gottschall was appointed to the Northern District of Illinois by President William J. Clinton in 1996.
Judge Gottschall was born in 1947 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She was in private practice in Chicago from 1973 to 1976 and 1978 to 1982, and served as a staff attorney with the Federal Defender Program in Chicago from 1976 to 1978. She was a staff attorney in the Legal Office at University of Chicago from 1982 to 1984, then served as U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Illinois from 1984 to 1996 before being elevated to district judge. She assumed senior status on April 23, 2012.
Education
- Stanford Law School, J.D., 1973
- Smith College, B.A., 1969
Career
- Senior District Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (2012–present)
- District Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (1996–2012)
- U.S. Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Illinois (1984–1996)
- Staff Attorney, Legal Office, University of Chicago (1982–1984)
- Private practice, Chicago (1973–1976, 1978–1982)
- Staff Attorney, Federal Defender Program, Chicago (1976–1978)