--- title: "John Joseph Tharp Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-joseph-tharp-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # John Joseph Tharp Jr. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ยท U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 2012-present - Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 1992-1997 - Law clerk, Hon. Joel M. Flaum, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 1990-1991 ### Education - Duke University โ€” B.A. (1982) - Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law ### Additional information - captain, 1987-present - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1997-2012 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1991-1992 - U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1987-1988 - first lieutenant, 1984-1987 - U.S. Marine Corps, 1982-1987 - second lieutenant, 1982-1984 - U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1980-1982 - U.S. Naval Reserve, 1978-1980 - Date of birth: 1960-01-01 - Predecessor: Judge Blanche M. Manning - Succeeded by: Judge John Robert Blakey - Birth place: Camp Lejeune, NC ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393986) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393986) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393986) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3196/john-joseph-tharp-jr/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3196/john-joseph-tharp-jr/) - [Wikidata: John J. Tharp, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6241305) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-joseph-tharp-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-joseph-tharp-jr", "name": "John Joseph Tharp Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "John Joseph Tharp Jr., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) โ€” Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.