Harold Baker (judge)

Harold Albert Baker (October 4, 1929 – September 18, 2023) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. He was originally appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois in 1978 by Jimmy Carter and then reassigned to the newly-created Central District in 1979. He became a senior judge in 1994. He was also a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court until 2005.

Education and career
Baker attended Columbia University, then received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1951. He was in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1953, obtaining the rank of Lieutenant. He received a Juris Doctor from University of Illinois College of Law in 1956. He was in private practice of law in Champaign, Illinois, from 1956 to 1978, and was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Illinois College of Law from 1972 to 1978. He was senior counsel for the United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States in 1975.

Federal judicial service
Baker was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on August 9, 1978, to a seat vacated by Judge Henry Seiler Wise on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. Baker was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 22, 1978, and received his commission on September 23, 1978. In 1978, the Eastern District and Southern District of Illinois were rearranged into the Southern District and Central District of Illinois. Baker was reassigned to the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois on March 31, 1979, by operation of law. In the Central District he served as Chief Judge from 1984 to 1991, and assumed senior status on October 4, 1994. Baker was on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from May 18, 1995 to May 18, 2005, having been appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. FISC judges serve seven-year terms.

Personal life
Baker was born on October 4, 1929, in Mt. Kisco, New York. He died in Champaign, Illinois, on September 18, 2023, at the age of 93.