Amy Joan St. Eve (born November 20, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2018 as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She previously served as a U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2002 to 2018.

Early life and education

Raised in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is a southeastern suburb of St. Louis. The population was 42,404 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populated city in the Me ...

, St. Eve received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1987. She then attended

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

, where she was an editor of the ''

Cornell Law Review The ''Cornell Law Review'' is the flagship legal journal of Cornell Law School. Originally published in 1915 as the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'', the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the ''Cornell Law Revi ...

''. She graduated in 1990 ranked first in her class with 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 ...

Legal career

Following law school graduation, St. Eve was in private practice at

Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly known as Davis Polk, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussel ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 1990 to 1994. She was an associate independent counsel at the

Whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

Independent Counsel The Office of Special Counsel was a prosecutorial unit within the United States Department of Justice that operated from 1978 until the expiration of its statutory authority on December 31, 1999. Created by the Ethics in Government Act o ...

's Office in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

from 1994 to 1996, where she successfully prosecuted former Arkansas Governor

Jim Guy Tucker James Guy Tucker Jr. (June 13, 1943 – February 13, 2025) was an American politician, businessman and attorney who served as the 43rd governor of Arkansas from 1992 until his resignation in 1996 after his conviction for fraud during the White ...

and Whitewater partners Jim and

Susan McDougal Susan Carol McDougal (née Henley; born June 27, 1955) is a real estate investor who served prison time as a result of the Whitewater controversy. Her refusal to answer "three questions" for a grand jury, on whether President Bill Clinton lied ...

for fraud. From 1996 to 2001, St. Eve served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for the

Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the Uni ...

. She was a Senior Counsel for

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, in the United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate k ...

, Abbott Park, Illinois, from 2001 to 2002, when she became a federal judge.

Federal judicial career

District court service

On March 21, 2002, St. Eve was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to a seat on the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the Uni ...

vacated by Judge George W. Lindberg, who assumed senior status. She was recommended for the post by United States Senator Peter Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald told the ''Chicago Tribune'' in 2003 that before St. Eve applied for the judgeship, "I didn't know Amy or know anyone who knew Amy. I was looking for the best qualified person." She 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 August 1, 2002, and received her commission the following day. Her service on the district court terminated in 2018, when she was elevated to the court of appeals. St. Eve was reportedly considered by the Trump administration for the position of

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a United States federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI director is appointed for a ...

after the dismissal of

James Comey James Brien Comey Jr. (; born December 14, 1960) is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until Dismissal of James Comey, his termination in May 2017. Comey was a registered Repub ...

, but ultimately did not receive the job as it went to Christopher A. Wray.

Court of appeals service

On February 12, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate St. Eve to an undetermined seat on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, courts in the following United Stat ...

. On February 15, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated St. Eve to the seat on the

vacated by Judge Ann Claire Williams, who assumed senior status on June 5, 2017. On March 21, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before 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 ...

. On April 19, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 21–0 vote. On May 14, 2018, the

confirmed her nomination by a 91–0 vote. She received her judicial commission on May 23, 2018.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Eve, Amy 1965 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American women lawyers American legal scholars American women legal scholars Assistant United States attorneys Cornell Law School alumni Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers Illinois lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty People from Belleville, Illinois People from Glencoe, Illinois United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump United States Department of Justice lawyers United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush