Education
University of San Diego.
University of San Diego.
Born in San Diego, California, Whelan received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego in 1961 and a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1965. Whelan was a Contracts administrator, planner, and estimator, for General Dynamics Corporation from 1961 to 1969. He was a Deputy district attorney of San Diego, California from 1969 to 1989.
Whelan was a judge on the Superior Court of California, San Diego County, California from 1990 to 1998.
As a superior court judge, Whelan presided over the infamous Betty Broderick trials in San Diego. Whelan was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Whelan was nominated by President Bill Clinton on June 4, 1998, to a seat vacated by John South. Rhoades. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 21, 1998, and received his commission on October 22, 1998.
He assumed senior status on August 15, 2010.
