62 and Counting ... NIU Law Graduates Assume New Judicial Posts This Year

September 07, 2007

DeKalb, Ill. -- The number of Northern Illinois University College of Law graduates serving in the judiciary increased significantly this year as nine alumni accepted new posts as judges since the beginning of 2007.

This unprecedented amount of new judges in NIU Law’s 30-year history boosts the number of its alumni in the judiciary to 62. With an alumni base of only 3,000 graduates, the ratio of those serving in the judiciary is impressive considering that NIU Law is relatively young and has a lower number of graduates among the nine Illinois law schools.

NIU Law congratulates the following alumni for their recent appointments to the judiciary: Linda Abrahamson (’92), Associate Judge, 16th Judicial Circuit; Rudolph M. Braud (’96), Associate Judge, 7th Judicial Circuit; Hercules A. Dellas (’78), Judge, Arizona Phoenix Municipal Court; Eugene Doherty (’89), Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit; Carmen Goodman (’95), Judge, 12th Judicial Circuit; James E. Snyder (’88), Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County; Thaddeus Wilson (’94), Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County; K. Patrick Yarbrough (’88), Associate Judge, 17th Judicial Circuit; and Richard Zimmer (’89), Associate Judge, 14th Judicial Circuit.

Of further note, Judge Goodman is the first African-American circuit judge, as well as the first African American woman, to sit in Will County. Judge Yarbrough also made local history as the first African American ever to serve in the 17th Judicial Circuit.

###

The only public law school in the greater Chicago area, NIU Law has previously been ranked first in the nation for government placement, according to U.S. News and World Report. Nearly one-third of its graduates choose a career in public interest, including more than 50 alumni in the judiciary -- a remarkable accomplishment for a law school with less than 3,000 graduates. In honor of its commitment to public service, NIU Law received the 2001 Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award.
 
 
For more information, contact:
Melody Mitchell
Director, Alumni Events & Public Relations
(815) 753-9655
mmitchell@niu.edu