Patrick J. Schiltz

Early life and education

Schiltz was born on July 6, 1960, in Duluth, Minnesota, and grew up there. He graduated from the College of St. Scholastica in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in history with a minor in sociology. He was a legislative aide to U.S. Senator David Durenberger from 1981 to 1982, then attended Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated in 1985 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.

Career

After law school, Schiltz was a law clerk from 1985 to 1986 to Antonin Scalia, who was then a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Schiltz had accepted an offer to clerk for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court the following year. In July 1986, shortly before Schiltz's clerkship with Scalia ended, President Ronald Reagan nominated Scalia to be a Supreme Court justice. Scalia asked Schiltz to help him prepare for his confirmation hearings, and, after Scalia was confirmed, he asked Schiltz to clerk for him during his first year at the Supreme Court. With O'Connor's permission, Schiltz agreed and clerked for Scalia at the Supreme Court from 1986 to 1987.

Following his clerkships, Schiltz joined the law firm Faegre & Benson (now part of Faegre Drinker) in Minneapolis. He represented the National Football League, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in antitrust and contract law; the Star Tribune and other media clients in access and libel litigation; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other religious organizations in tort and employment matters.

Schiltz left private practice in 1995 to join the faculty of Notre Dame Law School, where he taught civil procedure, evidence, and sports law. While at Notre Dame, Schiltz wrote "On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession", one of the most widely read law-review articles ever published. The Vanderbilt Law Review made the article the focus of a symposium, and the Washington Post called the article one of nine works every law student should read. One of Schlitz's first students was Amy Coney, whom Schiltz later helped get a clerkship with Justice Scalia.

In 2000, Schiltz left Notre Dame to become the founding associate dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota. He had primary responsibility for almost every significant aspect of creating the school, from hiring the faculty to designing the building. In 2002, Schiltz was named the St. Thomas More Chair in Law, the first endowed chair at the School of Law.

From 1997 to 2006, Schiltz served as the Reporter to the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. Among those who served on the Committee during Schiltz’s tenure were future Supreme Court Justices John G. Roberts, Jr. and Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

Federal judicial service

On December 14, 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Schiltz to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota after Judge Richard H. Kyle assumed senior status. The United States Senate confirmed Schiltz's appointment on April 26, 2006, and he received his commission on April 28. He became Chief Judge of the federal district court on July 1, 2022.

Reaction to Operation Metro Surge

Main article: Operation Metro Surge#Lawsuits

In January 2026, following the Trump Administration's launch of Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities area, Schlitz ordered Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to appear personally in court, to explain why ICE had not complied with an earlier court order for the release of Juan Tobay Robles from detention. Robles was then released before the date on which Lyons had been ordered to appear. In addition, Schiltz found that ICE violated at least 96 court orders in Minnesota since January 1, 2026 alone.

Selected scholarly works

References

References

1. {{FJC Bio
2. "District Court judge to speak at commencement May 13".
3. Schiltz, Patrick J.. (May 1999). "On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession". Vanderbilt Law Review.
4. Krauss, Michael. (2015-07-03). "Entering law school? Here's what to read this summer.". Washington Post.
5. (Summer 2025). "Judicial Profile: Hon. Patrick J. Schiltz". The Federal Lawyer.
6. (June 30, 2022). "District of MN Announces New Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz". United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
7. Barnett, Sofia. (January 28, 2026). "‘Patience is at an end’: Federal judge orders ICE director to appear in court". Minnesota Star Tribune.
8. Rubino, Kathryn. (2026-01-27). "Bush-Appointed Federal Judge To ICE: Comply With Court Courts. ICE: You've Got Us There!".
9. Ashley Oliver, Bill Melugin. (2026-01-27). "Federal judge threatening ICE director with contempt donated to group helping illegal immigrants".
10. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/us/politics/ice-director-minnesota-contempt.html
11. (2026-01-28). "Judge rips into ICE but backs off demand for agency head to appear in court".
12. Blurne, Paul. (January 28, 2026). "ICE violated at least 96 court orders in January". Fox 9 Twin Cities.
13. (January 28, 2026). "Minnesota Judge Says ICE Violated Nearly 100 Court Orders". New York Times.