Harold Albert Baker (October 4, 1929 – September 18, 2023) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (in case citations, C.D. Ill.) serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, C ...

. He was originally appointed to the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois (in case citations, E.D. Ill.) is a former federal district court for the state of Illinois. The court was established on March 3, 1905, by 33 Stat. 992. The Northern and Sou ...

in 1978 by

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and then reassigned to the newly created Central District in 1979. He became a senior judge in 1994. He was also a judge of the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a United States federal courts, U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests ...

until 2005.

Education and career

Baker attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, then received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

in 1951. He was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1951 to 1953, obtaining the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. He received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public land-grant research university in Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers th ...

in 1956. He was in private practice of law in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

, from 1956 to 1978, and was an

adjunct faculty An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is ge ...

member of the University of Illinois College of Law from 1972 to 1978. He was senior counsel for the

United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States The United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States was ordained by President Gerald Ford in 1975 to investigate the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies within the United St ...

in 1975.

Federal judicial service

Baker was nominated by President

on August 9, 1978, to a seat vacated by Judge Henry Seiler Wise on the

. Baker was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on September 22, 1978, and received his commission on September 23, 1978. In 1978, the Eastern District and Southern District of Illinois were rearranged into the Southern District and Central District of Illinois. Baker was reassigned to the

on March 31, 1979, by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

. In the Central District he served as Chief Judge from 1984 to 1991, and assumed senior status on October 4, 1994. Baker was on the

from May 18, 1995 to May 18, 2005, having been appointed by Chief Justice

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney who served as the 16th chief justice of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2005, having previously been an associate justice from 1972 to 1986. ...

. FISC judges serve seven-year terms.

Personal life

Baker was born on October 4, 1929, in Mt. Kisco, New York. He died in

, on September 18, 2023, at the age of 93.

References

External links

*
Judges Testimony at Senate FISA Hearing: The Transcripts
— transcripts of several former

FISC Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc (from Latin '' fiscus,'' whence we derive "fiscal") applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was. ...

judges, including Baker, in front of the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Harold 1929 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Illinois lawyers Columbia University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court People from Mount Kisco, New York United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter United States Navy officers University of Illinois College of Law alumni University of Illinois faculty