Robert R. Thomas

NFL player


Name=Bob Thomas
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1952|08|7
Birthplace=flagicon|USA Rochester, New York
DateofDeath=
Position=Placekicker
College=Notre Dame
DraftedYear=1974
DraftedRound=15 / Pick 388
(By the Los Angeles Rams)
Stats=y
DatabaseFootball=THOMABOB03
PFR=
ProBowls=
years=1975-1982
1982
1983-1984
1985
1986
teams=Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears
San Diego Chargers
New York Giants

Robert R. Thomas (born August 7, 1952 in Rochester, New York) is Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Illinois and a former professional football player. He has served as the Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the Second District since December 4, 2000 and as Chief Justice since 2006. His political affiliation is Republican.

Biography

Thomas graduated from McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, where he excelled both academically and in athletics, lettering in both football and soccer. He attended the University of Notre Dame where he kicked for the football team. He received his B.A. degree in government in 1974 and was named an Academic All-American in that same year. He went on to have a 12–year career as a kicker in the National Football League. [cite news|author=Kleppel, Ken|url=http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110405aah.html|title=From The Gridiron To The Supreme Court|publisher=University of Notre Dame|accessdate=2008-01-30] He received his J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1981. He was elected circuit court judge in DuPage County in 1988. There, he presided over civil jury trials and was the Acting Chief Judge from 1989 to 1994. In 1994, Judge Thomas was elected to the Appellate Court Second District.

In April 1996, Justice Thomas was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame, and in January 1999, he received the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. Justice Thomas is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association.

Defamation of Character Lawsuit

In 2007, Justice Thomas was awarded $7 million in a successful defamation of character lawsuit against Bill Page, a former columnist at the Kane County Chronicle. The justice's lawyers alleged that Mr. Page had essentially accused him of official misconduct, a felony, when he wrote in his column that he had traded his vote on a disciplinary case in exchange for political support for his favored candidate in a local judicial race. The case was significant because it prompted an Illinois appellate court to establish a judicial privilege in Illinois, allowing judicial deliberations to be kept private, much like doctor-patient discussions. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/business/media/20judge.html "Clash of a Judge and a Small Paper Underlines the Tangled History of Defamation"] , "The New York Times", November 20, 2006, accessed March 28, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.state.il.us/court/SupremeCourt/Justices/Bio_Thomas.asp Robert R. Thomas bio at the Illinois Supreme Court]