Milton Irving Shadur (June 25, 1924 – January 14, 2018) 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
.
Early life and education
Shadur was born in
Saint Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, and raised in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, where he attended
Washington High School, alma mater of fellow future attorneys
Hubert Louis Will (whom Shadur would succeed on the federal bench),
Newton N. Minow, and
Abner J. Mikva
Abner Joseph Mikva ( ; January 21, 1926 – July 4, 2016) was an American politician, federal judge, and legal scholar. He was a member of the Democratic Party. After serving in the Illinois House of Representatives, Mikva ran for congress in 19 ...
. Shadur received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in Mathematics and Physics from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1943. Upon graduation, he joined 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 ...
, where he served as a radar officer on multiple ships, including the
USS Sangamon, the victim of a kamikaze attack on May 24, 1945. After earning 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 the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
in 1949, he joined the law firm of Goldberg, Devoe & Brussell, which had become known as Shadur, Krupp & Miller by the time of Shadur's appointment to the federal judiciary, and is today known a
Miller Shakman Levine & Feldman In addition to Shadur, the firm produced a number of other highly regarded jurists, including former
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
Justice
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American politician and jurist who served as the 9th United States Secretary of Labor, U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and t ...
; Mikva, who served on the
and as
White House Counsel
The White House Counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Off ...
; and United States District Court Judge
Elaine E. Bucklo.
Federal judicial service
On April 2, 1980, Shadur was nominated by President
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 ...
to the seat on the
vacated by Judge Hubert Will. Both Shadur and Will graduated from Washington High School in Milwaukee and the University of Chicago for both undergrad and law school. Shadur 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 May 21, 1980, and received his commission on May 23, 1980. Although he assumed
senior status on June 25, 1992, he carried a full load of civil and criminal cases for another quarter-century, until 2015. While Shadur left the courtroom on September 1, 2017, due to severe spinal stenosis, he never officially retired, handing off his final case shortly before his death.
According to Chief United States District Judge
Rubén Castillo, Shadur sat to his right at public ceremonies and private meetings, and "was as close to an unofficial chief judge as anyone who served on our court," in addition to serving a mentor to other jurists; Shadur also wrote most of the rules adopted by the court.
Castillo also noted that "Judge Shadur has authored over 11,000 district court opinions, many of which directly impacted the rights of thousands of individuals. No other member of our court can match this stunning body of written work."
Notable cases
Soon after being commissioned, Shadur oversaw the court-ordered desegregation plan for
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
.
He also presided over two key cases involving
prisoners' rights
The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment ...
. In the first, he approved a consent decree ordering
Cook County
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...
to improve conditions at their jail, calling for the release of prisoners to curtail severe overcrowding. In the second, he found that class members were deprived of
constitutional rights
A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...
because resolution of their criminal appeals was substantially delayed as a consequence of the state's failure to appoint a sufficient number of
attorneys to handle these appeals—meaning that a very large percentage of
defendants
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdi ...
would serve their entire custodial term before the
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
was heard.
Shadur was among the first federal judges to explicitly acknowledge abuse by
Chicago police
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United ...
, using strong language to describe allegations of torture by officers in the 1990s. "It is now common knowledge," Shadur wrote in 1999, "that in the early- to mid-1980s,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
Commander
Jon Burge
Jon Graham Burge (December 20, 1947 – September 19, 2018) was an American police detective and commander in the Chicago Police Department. He was found guilty of lying about "directly participating in or implicitly approving the torture" o ...
and many officers working under him regularly engaged in the
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or ...
and
torture of prisoners to extract confessions."
Shadur regularly sat by designation on the
First
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
,
Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
,
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (di ...
– where he sat on multiple panels with then-Judge
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Samuel Alito Supreme Court ...
–
Sixth,
Ninth
In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.
Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
, and
Tenth Circuit
Courts of Appeals and from time to time on the
D.C. Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...
as well. He authored approximately 130 published majority opinions and 32 published dissenting opinions (as well as a number of unpublished opinions) for the Courts of Appeals on which he was sitting.
Personal and professional service
Shadur generously donated his time to advance both the legal profession and his community. As his United States District Court colleague
Robert Gettleman noted, "Long before pro bono representation was recognized as important by all segments of the bar, Milton Shadur lived his professional life as a lawyer faithful to the principle that one of the obligations of membership in the bar is the obligation to render uncompensated legal services to those unable to afford them."
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician, advisor, diplomat, and former investment banker who most recently served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Japan, United States ambassador to Japan from 2022 ...
stated "Judge Milton Shadur devoted his life to upholding justice, to his country, and to his family. He served the country bravely in uniform in World War II, honorably for 37 years on the bench, and will long be remembered for his sharp legal mind, independence and integrity."
Shadur served multiple terms on the visiting committee of the University of Chicago Law School, including serving as chairman from 1971 to 1976. He served as counsel to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board from 1975 to 1980; as director of the Chicago Bar Foundation from 1978 to 1983; and in numerous roles for the
Chicago Bar Association
Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is ...
, including secretary and member of its board of managers. Shadur was also a past member of the
American Bar Association's Special Committee on Youth Education for Citizenship; a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation; a past director of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago and of the Law in American Society Foundation; a member of the governing council of the
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests in the US and internationally through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.
History
The idea for a ...
and of its Commission on Law and Social Action, as well as vice president of the Chicago chapter of that organization and chairman of the chapter's Commission on Law and Social Action.
Nationally, Shadur was a frequent lecturer at judicial and bar events, including the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference, the
Federal Judicial Center
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
According to , the main areas of re ...
new judges' school, and the annual meeting of
multidistrict litigation transferee judges, as well as at numerous educational conferences sponsored by such groups as the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the
Federal Bar Association
The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, the FBA prints ''The Federal Lawye ...
, the
American Judicature Society
The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...
, the
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...
, the National Employment Lawyers Association, and the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
T ...
.
Shadur received numerous awards for his service, including recognition as a Legal Legend by the Chicago Chapter of the
American Constitution Society
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
in 2007; a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jewish Judges Association of Illinois in 2015; and the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Bar Association in 2017.
Shadur was a member of the board of trustees of the
Ravinia Festival
Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...
, and became a Life Trustee in 1994. He was also a past trustee of the Village of
Glencoe,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
.
Controversies
On January 29, 2010, a federal appeals court reviewing a decision by Shadur reversed it and remanded the case to a different judge, claiming that Shadur had been too lenient in sentencing
Edward Vrdolyak
Edward Robert Vrdolyak (; born December 28, 1937), also known as "Fast Eddie", is a former American politician and lawyer. He was a longtime Chicago alderman and the head of the Cook County Democratic Party until 1987 when he ran unsuccessfully ...
, a well-known former Chicago lawyer and politician, to probation in a corruption case and had committed gross procedural errors.
On June 17, 2014, he chose to remove himself from a case involving
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
after Jordan's attorneys claimed in a court filing that the judge had "demeaned and disparaged" Jordan by characterizing the former Bulls superstar as greedy and attempting to bully him into reducing his damages claim.
On November 14, 2014, a federal appeals court in Chicago removed Shadur from a sex-bias case because of the "abruptness and irregularity" in handling the case as well as the "unmistakable (and to us incomprehensible) tone of derision that pervades his opinion" dismissing the plaintiff's suit.
Personal
Shadur and his wife Eleanor had been married for nearly 72 years at the time of his death on January 14, 2018, in Glencoe, Illinois.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shadur, Milton Irving
1924 births
2018 deaths
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Lawyers from Milwaukee
Lawyers from Saint Paul, Minnesota
People from Glencoe, Illinois
Lawyers from Chicago
Military personnel from Minnesota
Illinois city council members
United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter
United States Navy officers
University of Chicago alumni
University of Chicago Law School alumni