John Zihun Lee
Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden in 2022 and confirmed by the Senate 50–44, John Zihun Lee is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1992. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1968 · age 58
- Appointed by
- Joseph R. Biden, 2022
- Confirmed
- 50–44
- Education
- Harvard 1989 · Harvard Law School 1992
- Succeeded
- Diane Pamela Wood
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Northern District of Illinois succeeded David H. Coar | Obama (D) | Voice vote |
| 2022 | Seventh Circuit succeeded Diane Pamela Wood | Biden (D) | 50–44 |
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
Nomination Confirmed 50–44 on September 7, 2022 · 117th Congress, Roll Call 327. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 50
45 D, 3 R, 2 I
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- John Hickenlooper(D-CO)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Mark Kelly(D-AZ)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Ben Lujan(D-NM)
- Joseph Manchin(D-WV)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Alex Padilla(D-CA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Kyrsten Sinema(D-AZ)
- Tina Smith(D-MN)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Raphael Warnock(D-GA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 44
44 R
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Marsha Blackburn(R-TN)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Mike Braun(R-IN)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Kevin Cramer(R-ND)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Bill Hagerty(R-TN)
- Josh Hawley(R-MO)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-MS)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Cynthia Lummis(R-WY)
- Roger Marshall(R-KS)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Mitt Romney(R-UT)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Rick Scott(R-FL)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Tommy Tuberville(R-AL)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Did not vote · 6
3 D, 3 R
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Jon Ossoff(D-GA)
- Jacklyn Rosen(D-NV)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
Education
| Harvard University | A.B. | 1989 |
| Harvard Law School | J.D. | 1992 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Lee was assigned 2,861 district-court cases (1991–2022). Median time from filing to termination: 154 days across 2,849 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 87 of Lee’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 73 were affirmed, 8 reversed or vacated, and 6 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed John Zihun Lee?
- President Joseph R. Biden appointed John Zihun Lee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2022.
- Was John Zihun Lee appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John Zihun Lee was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John Zihun Lee's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed John Zihun Lee 50–44 on September 7, 2022.
- Which court is John Zihun Lee on?
- John Zihun Lee is a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2022)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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3 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).