Northern District of Illinois / Appointed 1970 / Served to 1988

Frank James McGarr

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon in 1970 and confirmed by voice vote, Frank James McGarr was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He earned a law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1950. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived
1921–2012
Appointed by
Richard M. Nixon, 1970
Confirmed
by voice vote
Education
Loyola Chicago 1942 · Loyola Chicago Law 1950
Succeeded by
James Block Zagel

Federal judicial service

YearCourtAppointed byVote
1970Northern District of IllinoisNixon (R)Voice vote

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.

Confirmation vote

Voice vote

The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.

Education

Judicial Record

In our data, McGarr authored 44 published opinions for the court (1970–1988). Most cited: Trak Microcomputer Corp. v. Wearne Bros. (35 citations).

A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.

Recent & notable rulings

Showing the 15 most-cited of 44 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Frank James McGarr?
President Richard M. Nixon appointed Frank James McGarr to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1970.
Was Frank James McGarr appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
Frank James McGarr was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Frank James McGarr's confirmation vote?
Frank James McGarr was confirmed by voice vote on October 8, 1970. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Frank James McGarr on?
Frank James McGarr was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Sources

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17 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).