From the Bench. An Interview with Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier

• Author: Hon. Sunil R. Harjani
• Pages: 5-9

5VOL 46 | NO 3 | SPRI NG 2020

From the Bench

HON. SUNIL R. HARJANI

The author is a U.S. magistrate judge in the Northern District of Illinois.

Admittedly biased, I believe that U.S. mag-

istrate judges serve a vital role in our fed-

eral judicial system. Among their many

roles and responsibilities, magistrate

judges are frequently tasked to manage

the civil discovery process and serve as

mediators to help the parties resolve the

litigation (often saving the parties, and

the court, substantial time and expense).

Magistrate judges review and sign search

and arrest warrants, preside over initial

appearance hearings, and decide whether

to detain or release individuals on bond

pending trial. Indeed, when all parties

consent, magistrate judges step into the

shoes of the district court judge and man-

age the entire litigation. Magistrate judges

are a critical part in the efficient adminis-

tration of justice.

At the young age of 43 (yes, 43 is still

young), Sidney I. Schenkier became a mag-

istrate judge for the Northern District of

Illinois. Spending more than two decades

behind the bench, Judge Schenkier has

become one of the most widely respected

judges in the Northern District of Illinois,

the third-largest federal judicial district,

based in Chicago. After he announced his

intent to retire in April, it seemed the right

time to pay a visit to my former boss and

mentor for one last conversation before

he hangs up his robes.

Judge Harjani: Let’s start off with

some background. Can you tell us about

your career before you became a judge?

Judge Schenkier: After law school, I

clerked for a district judge, Marvin Aspen

in Chicago. I was his first law clerk in 1979

and clerked with him for a year. I then

went to the University of Chicago and was

a Bigelow Fellow teaching first-year stu-

dents legal writing and argument. After

that, in July of 1981, I went to Jenner &

Block, a law firm where I had spent the

summer before I clerked. I worked there

as a lawyer for close to 17 and a half years.

I was about as much a generalist as you

can be. I did criminal and civil work. I did

seven or eight jury trials down at the state

criminal court. I also did appeals work. I

had three cases in the U.S. Supreme Court,

none of which I got to argue, but it was a

rewarding experience nonetheless. With

respect to the civil practice, I did a lot of

employment defense work, but I also did a

variety of cases—an architectural malprac-

tice trial, an ERISA fraud trial, a punitive

damages trial after a remand. I did trade-

mark cases, patent cases, copyrights, large

business disputes. So on reflection, it re-

ally was a great kind of training ground for

what you do as a judge because judges are

really the last bastion of generalists. We’re

expected to take anything that comes in

the door, whatever the subject matter.

Judge Harjani: When do you think you

realized that becoming a judge was a ca-

reer goal for you?

Judge Schenkier: After I clerked, right

then, it was something that was attractive

to me because I saw what you could do as

a judge. I saw how many cases and people’s

lives you could touch as a judge, and that

was very appealing. But I was so young in

my career, and in my life, that it was hard

to actually envision it. Once I got to my

late 30s and early 40s, I had practiced for

a number of years, and I had enough expe-

riences in the law and in life that I thought

it was something that I could do, and it was

something that I wanted to do.

Judge Harjani: So after 21 years, you’ve

now decided to retire. Why?

Judge Schenkier: When I left the prac-

tice, I loved what I was doing, but I could

envision the day that I might not. Same

thing now, I still love what I am doing. But

I also could envision the day that I might

not. Sixty-five years old is also kind of this

nice demarcation. I’ve got seven grandkids

who live in Israel. I have four grandkids in

Chicago. So I’ll do something, but I’d like

to just have a little more time.

REFLECTIONS ON

21 YEARS BEHIND

THE BENCH: AN

INTERVIEW W ITH

MAGISTR ATE JUDGE

SIDNEY I. SCHENKIER