James Herbert Wilkerson

James Herbert Wilkerson (December 11, 1869 – September 30, 1948) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Education and career

Born in Savannah, Missouri, Wilkerson received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from DePauw University in 1889. He was in private practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1893 to 1922. He was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1902, and was a county attorney of Cook County, Illinois from 1903 to 1904. He was a special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States from 1906 to 1911, and was then the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1911 to 1914. He was Chairman of the Illinois Public Utilities Commission from 1919 to 1921.

Federal judicial service

On July 11, 1922, Wilkerson was nominated by President Warren G. Harding to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Wilkerson was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 18, 1922, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on December 31, 1940, serving in that capacity until his death on September 30, 1948. The new jury had also been sequestered overnight to further avoid tampering.