Sara Lynn Darrow (née Frizzell; born July 29, 1970) is the
Chief United States district judge of the
. She was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney in the
, where she was chief of the
violent crime
A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the object ...
s section.
Early life and education
Darrow earned her
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 yea ...
in 1992 from
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
and her
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
from
Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law, also known as SLU LAW, is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. The University hosted a law school briefly fr ...
in 1997.
Legal career
After graduating from law school, Darrow worked in the law offices of Clarence Darrow in
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located on ...
.
Between 1999 and 2003, she worked in the
Henry County, Illinois
Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2010 United States Census, listed its population at 50,486. Its county seat is Cambridge.
Henry County is included in the Davenport- Moline- Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan ...
State's Attorney's Office in
Cambridge, Illinois
Cambridge is a village in Henry County, Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other ...
. In 2003 Darrow became 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 go ...
for the Central District of Illinois where she prosecuted significant criminal cases involving
firearms,
drugs
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...
,
gang
A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Territory (animal), territory in a communi ...
s,
fraud
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 compen ...
,
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdiction ...
, and
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
.
Federal judicial service
On the recommendation of
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate Dem ...
, Darrow was nominated to the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois by President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
on November 17, 2010 to fill a vacancy created by Judge
Joe Billy McDade
Joe Billy McDade (born 1937) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, with chambers in Peoria, Illinois. He is the first judge of the newly created seat, and was appointe ...
, who assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
.
The United States Senate confirmed Darrow by
unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...
on August 2, 2011, and she received her commission the next day.
She started her term as Chief Judge on March 12, 2019.
Family
Darrow's husband Clarence Michael Darrow serves as an Illinois Circuit Court judge. Her father-in-law
Clarence A. Darrow
Clarence Allison Darrow (born March 22, 1940) is an American politician and lawyer. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Senate.
Darrow was born in Dubuque, Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree from Loras College. ...
also served as an Illinois state court judge and served in the
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1 ...
.
Our Campaigns.com-Clarence A. Darrow
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Darrow, Sara
1970 births
Living people
American prosecutors
Illinois lawyers
Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Marquette University alumni
People from Henry County, Illinois
People from Pontiac, Michigan
Saint Louis University School of Law alumni
United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama
21st-century American judges
Assistant United States Attorneys
21st-century American women judges