Eugene R. Sullivan is a retired Federal Judge in Washington D.C. with over 16 years of appellate court judicial experience. Nominated by President Reagan and confirmed by the Senate, Judge Sullivan was installed as a Federal Judge in 1986. In 1990, President Bush named him the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (AF). In 2002, he was elevated to a Senior Status Federal Judge. When not recalled to active Court service, Judge Sullivan is the Senior Counsel of the D.C. Law firm of Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP.
Judge Sullivan graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, where he was a member of the Cadet Honor Committee (elected by his class) and the varsity lacrosse team (Letterman with 1 Navy star). Following graduation, he served in the Army for over five years and qualified as a tanker, an Airborne Ranger, a Ranger Instructor, and a Jumpmaster. He has been designated as a Distinguished Member of the Ranger Training Brigade. In Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and other decorations. In 2010, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.
After the Army, Judge Sullivan graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, serving as an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. After law school, Judge Sullivan clerked for Chief Judge Matthes of the United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) and worked for the Patton Boggs law firm in Washington, D.C. Judge Sullivan served in the White House on the legal defense team of President Nixon during the Watergate investigation. For eight years, he was a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington. Later Judge Sullivan served in the Pentagon for almost five years as the 14th U.S. Air Force General Counsel and the Chief Ethics Officer of the U.S. Air Force after serving initially as the U.S.AF Deputy General Counsel.
In addition for almost 5 years, Judge Sullivan was the covert General Counsel of the National Reconnaissance Office (“NRO”-a then super-secret US satellite intelligence agency). While in the Air Force, he was also the Governor of Wake Island (the U.S. possession in the Pacific). Judge Sullivan served on the Federal Commission to review the West Point Honor Code. He is a Trustee Emeritus and the founding Chair of the Ethics Committee of the West Point Board of Trustees (Association of Graduates) and was on the founding Executive Board of the Duke Law School Center for Law, Ethics and National Security. For many years, he was the chair of the International Judicial Conference (Criminal Law) and the Great Debate judicial reform between the USA and England, educating international judges and lawyers.
In recognition for service to his Country, Judge Sullivan has been awarded the Medal of Justice from Romania, the First Class Medal of Defense from Hungary, the Defense Minister’s Citation of Merit from the Republic of China, a Doctor of Law degree(Hon)from the New England School of Law, the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, the Defense Department Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the 2001 Castle Award and the 2017 William Tudor Sword-(The Castle and Tudor Awards are given to one West Pointer each year for Service to Country). He has received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The Arlington National Cemetery has awarded him a Medallion and Army Certificate of Appreciation for his saving the life of a heart attack victim attending a funeral service at the cemetery using CPR in 2010.
He has 2 published novels, both political thrillers: The Majority Rules (2005) & The Report to the Judiciary (2008) and was the Chief Judge of the Judging Panel(16 years)for the annual International Dublin Literary Award (100,000 Euros for a single work of fiction).
Judge Sullivan is married to Lis Sullivan from Denmark–an artist and social anthropologist (expertise in bound-foot women of China). Their daughter, Kim, is a graduate of Columbia University, attended graduate school at Columbia University, and is a TV producer (photo) in New York City; Eugene II, their son, is a litigator in Washington DC and is a graduate of the Lawrenceville School, Duke University, The London School of Economics, and Columbia Law.