The Hon. John J. Scully (Ret.) served as an associate judge for the Lake County Circuit Court in Illinois. Scully was appointed to the bench by the judges of the 19th Judicial Circuit in 2009. He retired on March 5, 2019.
Over the course of his judicial career, Scully was the driving force behind the Veterans History Project. The goal of the project is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans.
Scully earned a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy. He then completed a J.D. at the University of San Diego School of Law in 1974. He was admitted to the State Bar of Illinois in 1978.
After graduating from law school, Scully began his civil legal career as an assistant state’s attorney for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. He served in that capacity for fourteen months, eventually leaving to become a special attorney with the United States Organized Crime Strike Force with the United States Department of Justice. Then, in 1990, his role with the Department of Justice merged with the United States Attorney’s Office, where he served as an assistant United States attorney.
He is a recipient of the John Marshall Award from the Attorney General of the United States.
A veteran of the United States Navy, Scully provided gunfire support on the USS Hull along the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Later, he joined the United States Naval Reserves, where he specialized in intelligence assignments as well as the prosecution and defense of service members.