John Joseph Tharp Jr.
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 86–1, John Joseph Tharp Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He earned a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) in 1990. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1960 · age 66
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2012
- Confirmed
- 86–1
- Education
- Duke 1982 · Northwestern Law (now Pritzker School of Law) 1990
- Succeeded
- Blanche M. Manning
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Northern District of Illinois succeeded Blanche M. Manning | Obama (D) | 86–1 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 86–1 on May 14, 2012 · 112th Congress, Roll Call 90. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 86
48 D, 36 R, 2 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- Kelly Ayotte(R-NH)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Scott Brown(R-MA)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Dan Coats(R-IN)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Chuck Grassley(R-IA)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Dean Heller(R-NV)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Pat Toomey(R-PA)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Voted against · 1
1 R
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
Did not vote · 13
3 D, 10 R
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
Education
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Tharp was assigned 4,373 district-court cases (1986–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 150 days across 3,807 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 144 of Tharp’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 114 were affirmed, 21 reversed or vacated, and 9 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 Joseph Tharp Jr.?
- President Barack Obama appointed John Joseph Tharp Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2012.
- Was John Joseph Tharp Jr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- John Joseph Tharp Jr. was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was John Joseph Tharp Jr.'s confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed John Joseph Tharp Jr. 86–1 on May 14, 2012.
- Which court is John Joseph Tharp Jr. on?
- John Joseph Tharp Jr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Office of Senator Mark Kirk (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2012)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
14 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).