Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician. He served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission). He was then appointed a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was forced to step down from the bench after being convicted of mail fraud in 1974.
Otto Kerner Jr.
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Born 1908 in Chicago, IL
Died 1976 in Chicago, IL
FJC ID: 1267
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 32/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 262/year
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals · 1968–1974
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Special Services Center, Lewis UniversityConsultant · 1975–1976
- IllinoisGovernor · 1961–1968
- Illinois Circuit Court, Cook CountyJudge · 1954–1961
- Illinois National Guard (highest rank: major general)1934–1941, 1946–1954
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois1947–1954- Private practice, Chicago, Illinois1935–1942, 1946–1947
U.S. Army (highest rank: lieutenant colonel)1941–1946
Appointments
1968–1974 · Appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)Term ended: Resignation
Education
- Brown UniversityA.B. · 1930