Joel Flaum

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Joel Flaum
Image of Joel Flaum
United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (senior status)
Tenure

2020 - Present

Years in position

3

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Successor: Ilana Rovner

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Education

Bachelor's

Union College, 1958

Graduate

Northwestern University School of Law, 1964

Law

Northwestern University School of Law, 1963

Personal
Birthplace
Hudson, N.Y.

Joel Martin Flaum is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He joined the court in 1983 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He assumed senior status on November 30, 2020.[1]

Flaum was previously a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1974 to 1983.[2]

Education

Flaum graduated from Union College with his bachelor's degree in 1958, and from Northwestern University School of Law with both his J.D. in 1963 and his LL.M. in 1964.[2]

Military service

Flaum served as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Naval Reserves from 1981 to 1992. By the completion of his service, Flaum attained the rank of lieutenant commander.[2]

Professional career

Judicial nominations and appointments

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Joel Martin Flaum
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 20 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: April 14, 1983
DefeatedAABA Rating:
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: April 27, 1983
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: May 3, 1983 
ApprovedAConfirmed: May 4, 1983
ApprovedAVote: Unanimous consent


Flaum was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on April 14, 1983, to a seat vacated by Robert Sprecher as Sprecher died in judicial service. Hearings on Flaum's nomination before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary were held on April 27, 1983, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) on May 3, 1983. Flaum was confirmed by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate on May 4, 1983, and he received his commission on May 5, 1983. Flaum served as the chief judge of the court from 2000 to 2006.[2][3] Flaum assumed senior status on November 30, 2020.[1]

Northern District of Illinois

Flaum was nominated by President Gerald Ford on November 18, 1974, to a seat vacated by Judge Philip Tone as Tone assumed senior status. Flaum was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 18, 1974, and he received his commission on December 20, 1974. Flaum left the Northern District of Illinois on June 1, 1983, upon his elevation to Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Flaum was succeeded in this position by Judge Ilana Rovner.[2]

Noteworthy cases

Union challenge to Wisconsin's labor law defeated in court (2014)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (Laborers Local 236, AFL-CIO, et al v. Walker, et al, 13-3193)

On April 18, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit, composed of Judges Flaum, Ilana Rovner, and Judge Virginia Kendall of the Northern District of Illinois sitting by designation, ruled that Wisconsin's Act 10, a law enacted in 2011 that barred government employers from collectively bargaining with employees' unions over anything save for wages, was constitutionally sound, upholding a lower court opinion from the Western District of Wisconsin.[4]


In the underlying case, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 60 and Laborers Local 236 brought suit against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, alleging violations of their constitutionally protected First Amendment right to the freedom of association, as well as their right to petition the government for redress of grievances. The plaintiffs further alleged violations of their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the laws. Prior to the plaintiffs' appeal, Judge William Conley rebuffed their claims, stating that as public employees of the state, they "remain[ed] free to associate and their unions remain[ed] free to speak; municipal employers are simply not allowed to listen."[4]


In an opinion written by Judge Flaum, the Seventh Circuit affirmed Judge Conley's ruling, commenting that "the line between constitutionality and unconstitutionally is not drawn according to how open a state decisionmaker is to what you have to say."[4]

See also

External links


Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by:
Philip Tone
Northern District of Illinois
1974–1983
Succeeded by:
Ilana Rovner
Preceded by:
Robert Sprecher
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
1983–2020
Succeeded by:
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi