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Judge Joel M. Flaum, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, is the 2024 recipient of the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. Flaum received the award in a Nov. 13 ceremony presided over by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., at the U.S. Supreme Court.

For 40 years, the Devitt Award has honored an Article III judge who has had a distinguished career and made significant contributions to the administration of justice, the advancement of the rule of law, and the improvement of society as a whole.

Recipients are chosen by a committee of federal judges. This year, the committee was chaired by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and included Judge John Z. Lee, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“Judge Flaum has given more than half of his life to the judiciary,” Justice Barrett said. “He has served the justice system with a grace and collegiality that has earned him the unanimous respect and admiration of his colleagues, and he is altogether deserving of the highest honor bestowed upon an Article III federal judge.”

“I am most grateful to be included among the outstanding judges who have previously received the Devitt Award, named after the distinguished jurist Edward J. Devitt and established by the Opperman Foundation,” Judge Flaum said. “I wish to thank the selection committee, my colleagues, and members of the bar for this honor.”

Flaum was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1974. He was elevated to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1983 and served as chief judge from 2000 to 2006.

Flaum was born in Hudson, New York. He graduated from Union College in 1958 and Northwestern University School of Law in 1963. He went on to earn a Master of Laws degree from Northwestern in 1964. Flaum served as a U.S. Naval Reserve lieutenant commander in the JAG Corps, from 1981 to 1992. 

Flaum began his legal career at a Chicago law firm before entering a career in public service as an assistant state’s attorney for Cook County, Illinois, in 1965. He later became First Assistant Illinois Attorney General and was First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois when he joined the federal bench.

According to a news release by the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation, which sponsors the Devitt Award, Flaum was nominated for the honor by all of his judicial colleagues in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Judge Flaum’s straightforward legal reasoning and writing, grounded in statutory text, always commands respect,” wrote the judges in their nomination submission. “He has made extraordinary contributions across multiple fields, each of which has strengthened the federal judiciary immeasurably.”

The Devitt Award is named for the late Edward J. Devitt, longtime chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Related Topics: Awards & Honors