Colleen Lawless

Education Lawless earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2005 and a Juris Doctor from the Northern Illinois University College of Law in 2009.

Career From 2009 to 2019, Lawless was a lawyer and shareholder at Londrigan, Potter & Randle P.C. in Springfield, Illinois. From 2019 to 2023, she served as an associate judge of the Illinois Circuit Court for the 7th district.

Federal judicial service

On September 2, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lawless to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. On November 15, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On December 8, 2022, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote. On January 3, 2023, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. She was renominated on January 23, 2023. On February 9, 2023, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 14–7 vote. On March 1, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 53–43 vote. On March 2, 2023, her nomination was confirmed by a 51–41 vote. She received her judicial commission on March 9, 2023.

Notable rulings

In July 2024, Lawless dismissed a federal lawsuit filed against the Springfield, Illinois, police department by the father of a deceased two-year-old girl. The man accused Springfield police officers of violating his constitutional rights and Illinois state law during a traffic stop where his daughter's ashes, contained in an urn, were tested for drugs.