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Military Career
A graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, Judge Sullivan served in the Army for five years, qualifying as a tanker, an Airborne Ranger, a Ranger Instructor, and a Jumpmaster. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and other decorations for his service in Vietnam, and was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.
Legal Career
After the Army, Judge Sullivan graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, serving as an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal in his senior year. He clerked for the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, worked at the Patton Boggs law firm, and was part of the White House’s legal defense team during the Watergate investigation.
Nominated by President Reagan and confirmed by the Senate, Judge Sullivan was installed as a Federal Judge in 1986, became the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (AF) in 1990, and earned Senior Status in 2002.
When not recalled to active court service, Judge Sullivan is a senior partner at Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan law firm.
Public servant
Before being appointed a Federal Judge, Sullivan served as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice for eight years before joining the Pentagon, where he became the Air Force General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer of the U.S. Air Force.
Judge Sullivan has also served as the General Counsel of the National Reconnaissance Office (the U.S. satellite intelligence agency) and the Governor of Wake Island.
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 serves on the Executive Board of the Duke Law School Center for Law, Ethics and National Security.
Internationally respected jurist
Judge Sullivan has given many lectures to visiting international judges and lawyers. For many years, he was the chair of the International Judicial Conference (Criminal Law) and the Great Debate (a dialogue regarding judicial reform) between the USA and England.
For his dedication to promoting the rule of law, Judge Sullivan has earned several honors, including:
- Medal of Justice from Romania
- The Defense Minister’s Citation of Merit from the Republic of China
- U.S. Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal
- The 2001 Castle Award from the West Point Society (DC)
- First Class Medal of Defense from Hungary
- Honorary Doctor of Law degree from New England School of Law
- U.S. Defense Department Medal for Distinguished Public Service
- The Ellis Island Medal of Honor
Accomplished author
Judge Sullivan has published two political thrillers – The Majority Rules (2005) and The Report to the Judiciary (2008) – and he is the Chair of the Judging Panel for the annual International Impact Dublin Literary Award.
In this tense novel of legal and political intrigue, Tim Quinn, the former judge previously seen in The Majority Rules, is assigned to investigate and compile a dossier on the newly appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court before his Senate confirmation hearing.
Tim Quinn, a Washington DC lawyer on the move, was flattered to be recommended by his friend Harry Winston to a vacancy on the bench caused by the unsavory death of one of the judges. He was also surprised to see how easy his nomination and confirmation turned out to be once Harry had given his approval and pulled more than a few strings.
Dedicated family man
Judge Sullivan is married to Lis Sullivan of Denmark, who is an artist and field anthropologist with expertise in bound-foot women of China. Their daughter Kim is a graduate of Columbia University and producer for CNBC in New York City. Their son Eugene II is a litigator in Washington DC and a graduate of Duke University, The London School of Economics, and Columbia Law.