--- title: "Thomas Michael Durkin | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-michael-durkin" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Thomas Michael Durkin U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · 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: senior - 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 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, having assumed senior status on December 26, 2023 - Between 1993 and 2012, he was a partner at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago - From 1980 to 1993, Durkin was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, holding leadership roles such as Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division and First Assistant U.S. Attorney - Law clerk, Hon. Stanley J. Roszkowski, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1978-1980 - As Senior Judge, Durkin continues to hear cases in the Northern District of Illinois ### Education - J.D. in 1978 cum laude from DePaul University College of Law - B.S. in 1975 cum laude from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ### Additional information - chief, Special Prosecutions Division, 1990-present - chief, Criminal Receiving and Appellate Division, 1989-present - deputy chief, Special Prosecutions Division, 1988-present - On May 21, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Durkin to replace retiring Judge Wayne Andersen. - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1993-2012 - ���first assistant U.S. attorney, 1991-1993 - Born 1953 in Chicago, Illinois. - Date of birth: 1953-01-01 - handling complex commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense - Birth place: Chicago, IL ## 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/1394096) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394096) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394096) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/947/thomas-michael-durkin/) - [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/947/thomas-michael-durkin/) - [Wikidata: Thomas M. Durkin](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7792040) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-michael-durkin", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-michael-durkin", "name": "Thomas Michael Durkin | KnowJudges", "description": "Thomas Michael Durkin, 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) — 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.