Eric Franklin Melgren (born 1956) is the Chief United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...

Education and career

Born in

Minneola, Kansas Minneola is a city in Clark County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 738. History Minneola was founded in 1887. Its name is a combination of that of Minnie Davis and Ola Watson, the wives of pione ...

, Melgren received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in 1979 and a Juris Doctor from

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...

in 1985. He was a law clerk for Judge Frank G. Theis of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas from 1985 to 1987. He was in private practice in Wichita, Kansas, from 1987 to 2002, and then served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Kansas from 2002 to 2008.

Notable prosecutions

In 2008, Melgren prosecuted the

tax avoidance Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdi ...

firm Renaissance, The Tax People for

defrauding In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensa ...

its clients out of at least $84 million, and secured a twenty-five year sentence against the firm's founder, Michael C. Cooper. Cooper escaped and had been an international

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

until he was caught in 2010.

Federal judicial service

Melgren was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on July 23, 2008, to fill a seat in the District of Kansas vacated by

Monti Belot Monti Louis Belot (born March 4, 1943) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Early life and career Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Belot received a Bachelor of Arts de ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

on September 26, 2008, and received his commission on October 6, 2008. He became Chief Judge on December 1, 2021. On January 3, 2022, the

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distr ...

held that it was "procedurally unreasonable" for Melgren to impose a harsher sentence on a defendant because she had pled guilty without reaching a plea agreement with the prosecution.United States v. Cozad
(10th Cir. 2022)

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melgren, Eric F. 1956 births Living people 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas People from Clark County, Kansas Lawyers from Wichita, Kansas United States Attorneys for the District of Kansas United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush Washburn University alumni Wichita State University alumni