Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel appointed

• Final report must be submitted by Jan. 15, 2013

Staff Report

Chief Judge James F. Holderman announced he appointed a Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel to recommend qualified candidates to replace the magistrate judge assigned to the Western Division of the Northern District of Illinois.

Earlier this year, United States Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney announced he plans to retire Dec. 31 after 36 years of service on the court. He has agreed to continue to work on a recalled basis, if needed.

Under the law, the panel must submit its report by Jan. 15, 2013, and provide a list of the final candidates for appointment to the position. By regulation, the panel must include at least two non-lawyers. The final appointee will be chosen by the judges of the District Court.

The Honorable Val Gunnarsson, chief judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Carroll County, will serve as the chairman of the panel. The other members of the panel are Deputy Chairman Herbert H. Franks, Sara M. Cliffe, Earl Dotson Jr., Mike Dunn, Patricia Fong, Thomas Laughlin, Glenn Schorsch and Linda M. Zuba.

“The magistrate judge assigned to the Western Division of the Northern District of Illinois is historically one of the busiest magistrate judges in the country,” said Holderman.

Holderman added, “Magistrate Judge Mahoney has served the people of the Northern District of Illinois with great distinction for more than three-and-a-half decades and is considered one of the finest magistrate judges in the country.”

The court looks forward to receiving the panel’s report in January and hopes to select the new United States Magistrate Judge in time for the final appointee to take the bench in April 2013.

From the Dec. 12-18, 2012, issue