Judge John Z. Lee
Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
John Zihun Lee was born in March 1968 in Aachen, West Germany. He earned an undergraduate degree and received a Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard University.
Lee worked as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division. He then worked in private Chicago law firms, eventually becoming a partner. He taught antitrust law at The John Marshall Law School and Greek mythology at Harvard.
Lee was nominated by President Barack Obama to be a judge for the Northern Illinois U.S. District Court. He was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission in Mary 2012.
Lee was nominated by President Joe Biden to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate and assumed his position in September 2022.
In the News…
The Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals overturned a ruling by a district court judge in Chicago that ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release over 600 illegal aliens detained under Operation Midway Blitz.
Judge John Z. Lee was joined by Judge Doris Pryor in finding that the consent decree under federal law on which the lower court based its decision could not be applied to all immigrants. They found that the law prohibiting “warrantless arrests” was improperly applied to forbid arrests and detentions under other federal immigration laws.
Judges Lee and Pryor determined that all illegal immigrants could not be placed in one “class” and ordered to be released without individual determinations as to whether they had been properly arrested and detained.
The judges stated that, while the decree may be enforced, it cannot be applied to detainees for whom immigration agents had executed field warrants.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Lee today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Jhon Z. Lee
Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse
219 S. Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60604
