The Hon. Thomas J. Whelan is a District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton in June 1998 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 1998. He filled the seat vacated by the Hon. John Skylstead Rhoades, Sr. Judge Whelan assumed senior status in August 2010.
He received his B.A. from the University of San Diego in 1961. He went on to earn his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1965.
After graduating from college, Whelan began working for General Dynamics Corp, where he held several different positions until 1969. It was at that time that Whelan began his legal career as a deputy district attorney with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. He held that position until receiving a call to the state bench in 1990.
The former Governor George Deukmejian appointed Whelan to serve as a judge for the San Diego County Superior Court in 1990. He was serving in that capacity at the time of his nomination to the federal bench in 1998.
Judge Whelan was born in San Diego, California.