Marvin E. Aspen was appointed as a U.S. Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on July 24, 1979. On July 1, 1995, he was elevated to Chief Judge. On October 1, 2000, he was named as a member of the United States Judicial Conference. Chief Judge Aspen is a past member of the Board of the Federal Judicial Center and has served as a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System. He is the Edward Avery Harriman Adjunct Professor of Law at Northwestern School of Law, where for more than two decades he has taught courses in evidence, criminal law, trial technique and municipal law.