CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

FEDERAL COURT IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

FEDERAL JUDICIAL SYSTEM

BASIC STRUCTURE OF FEDERAL COURT

JURISDICTION OF FEDERAL TRIAL COURTS

FEDERAL COURT IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA - PRIOR TO 1818

FEDERAL COURT IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA - AFTER 1818

JUDGES OF DISTRICT COURT

JUDGES OF COURT OF APPEALS FROM WESTERN DISTRICT

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT AND WESTERN DISTRICT

DONETTA W. AMBROSE

MAURICE B. COHILL, JR., Senior Judge

GUSTAVE DIAMOND, Senior Judge

ALAN N. BLOCH, Senior Judge

WILLIAM L. STANDISH, Senior Judge

CHIEF JUDGE GARY L. LANCASTER

LISA PUPO LENIHAN

SEAN J. MCLAUGHLIN

JOY FLOWERS CONTI

DAVID STEWART CERCONE

TERRENCE F. MCVERRY

ARTHUR J. SCHWAB

KIM R. GIBSON

THOMAS M. HARDIMAN

MAGISTRATE JUDGES

CHIEF FRANCIS X. CAIAZZA

ILA JEANNE SENSENICH

ROBERT C. MITCHELL

SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER

KEITH A. PESTO

AMY REYNOLDS HAY

INTRODUCTION

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania was created by  an Act of Congress on April 20, 1818.  The court is recognized throughout the nation for its standards of excellence, fairness and professionalism.

The United States District Court is a trial court within the federal judicial system and is designated as part of the Third Circuit. The district court has jurisdiction over all federal civil and criminal matters arising in twenty-five counties of Western Pennsylvania. The federal courthouse is located in Pittsburgh, and two satellite courthouses are located in Erie and Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Fifty-five men and women have served as judges of the district court. From 1818 until 1909, the district court was a "one-judge" court. At present, there are 10 authorized active district court judgeships. Five judges who formerly served on the court, Joseph F. Weis, Jr., Carol Los Mansmann, Timothy K. Lewis, D. Brooks Smith and Thomas M. Hardiman, have served or now serve as members of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Each year the federal courts are challenged with new and often complex litigation that inevitably follows the enactment by Congress of additional laws.  During the 1980's, the Speedy Trial Act and the Sentencing Guidelines impacted profoundly on the work of the district court.  New civil rights statutes and the burgeoning area of employment litigation also added to the court's increasing case inventory throughout the 80's and 90's.  Despite nagging judicial vacancies during most of those years, the judges of the Western District have confronted their increased caseloads with determination and a continued commitment to administering justice promptly and fairly. 

It is with great pride that the following men and women, who have dedicated their lives to serving the people of this district and the administration of justice, present this history of the court.

Donetta W, Ambrose

Chief Judge

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

<< Table of Contents >>

THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Historians have noted that the absence of Federal Courts in western Pennsylvania was a precipitating cause of the "Whiskey Rebellion" of 1794.

Although a special statute had been enacted by the Congress in June 1794 which would have permitted Federal Excise Tax matters to be heard by the state courts sitting in the newly dedicated courthouse on Pittsburgh's Market Square, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton caused summonses to be served in July 1794 upon the western Pennsylvania distillers who had failed to comply with the Federal Excise law which commanded the dissident farmers to go to the Federal Court in Philadelphia to argue their cause--a journey so expensive and so burdensome as to render impractical any serious effort to challenge the validity or appropriateness of the hated tax. Whether Hamilton's action was the result of oversight or an intentional provocation was debated then and has been debated since, but anger over it was the spark which ignited the tinder, leading to the attacks on federal agents and the indignant and tumultuous meetings which caused President Washington to call out more than 10,000 militiamen.

Ironically, it was also the absence of Federal Courts in western Pennsylvania which was largely responsible for the acquittal of nearly all of the persons who were charged with treason in the aftermath of the "insurrection", for the United States prosecutors discovered that the burden, expense and futility of transporting unsympathetic witnesses over the mountains to Philadelphia for the trials in the spring, summer and fall of 1795 made impossible the effective prosecution of the western insurgents.

Since those earliest days, there have been few instances which so dramatically demonstrate the need for federal courts in western Pennsylvania, but these courts have played an important role in our lives. In the pages which follow, there is a description of the Federal Judicial system, followed by a history of the United States Courts in the Western District of Pennsylvania since the establishment of the District in 1818, with biographies of all the present judges of the District Court and of those Judges on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit who come from the Western District.

<< Table of Contents >>

"The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience, the felt necessities of the time, the prevalent moral and political theories, intuitions of public policy, avowed or unconscious, even the prejudices which judges share with their fellow men, have had a good deal more to do than the syllogism in determining the rules by which men should be governed..."

-Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL SYSTEM

Few aspects of our legal system have demonstrated more constantly the truth of Justice Holmes' aphorism than the growth of the Federal Court system.

The Federalist Papers reveal the deep division which existed among the delegates at the Constitutional Convention concerning the desirability of even establishing a separate system of Federal Courts. Many delegates felt that appellate review by the United States Supreme Court was all that was needed to protect federal interests and that the establishment of a duplicate system of federal trial courts was unnecessary. Proponents of the "Patterson" plan (which would have left all litigation at trial level to state courts) outnumbered the delegates who were in favor of the "Randolph" proposal which provided for a complete Federal Court system. The constitutional basis for the establishment of Lower Federal Courts exists only because of a compromise proposal sponsored by Madison and Wilson which provides for the judiciary Article of the United States Constitution under which Congress has the option to establish such lower Federal Courts as it deems appropriate.

The constitutional debates over the Judiciary Article also encompassed methods of appointment, compensation, tenure, and jurisdiction--all of which problems were eventually resolved by resort to a pragmatic compromise of conflicting interests and political necessities, with what has been characterized as "an insight approaching genius" and which led ultimately to the creation of a Federal Court system described by Mr. Justice Frankfurter in his book on the Federal Courts as a "transcendent achievement."

<< Table of Contents >>

THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM

The judiciary Article (Article III) of the Federal Constitution lists the matters which are embraced within the judicial power of the United States and created the United States Supreme Court and gave it original jurisdiction over cases "affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers ... and those to which a State shall be a party" and appellate jurisdiction over all other cases within federal judicial power, subject to "such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make." In addition, Article III provides that the Congress may from time to time establish such "inferior courts" as it shall desire.

Congress exercised its authority to create inferior federal courts in its first session. The Judiciary Act of 1789 created two sets of trial courts: District Courts and Circuit Courts. The Circuit Courts were not the Courts of Appeals with which present day lawyers are familiar, although they had some appellate jurisdiction. The principal jurisdiction of the District Courts was in admiralty, minor criminal matters and later, bankruptcy proceedings. The Circuit Courts were given jurisdiction over major federal criminal offenses, over actions at law or in equity between citizens of different states or between citizens and aliens, and appellate jurisdiction over the District Courts.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 also provided for the Supreme Court's organization and gave it appellate jurisdiction over Circuit Courts in civil actions and over state courts where the final judgment of the highest court of the state turned upon a federal question.

In time the judicial system created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 required adjustment, but except for the politically controversial "Midnight Judges' Act" of 1801 (which was repealed in 1802) the alterations which were made were piecemeal in character. The growth of the country required gradual expansion in the original court system, so it grew from its original three judicial circuits (Eastern, Middle and Southern) to its present structure of eleven judicial circuits, each consisting of a number of districts. The number of Justices on the Supreme Court fluctuated from three to ten before stabilizing at its present level of nine.

Except for the creation of some courts of specialized jurisdiction, the first major change in the basic judicial system created by the act of 1789 was the creation, more than one hundred years later, of intermediate appellate courts known as "Circuit Courts of Appeal." The Judiciary Act of 1891 stripped the existing circuit courts of their appellate jurisdiction, although they continued to exist as important trial courts having jurisdiction of serious criminal cases and civil jurisdiction in diversity cases, special federal matters, and federal question cases until the passage of the Judicial Code of 1911 which finally transferred the remaining functions of the circuit courts to the district courts. For seventy years after the Judicial Code of 1911, the structure of the federal judicial system remained substantially the same. It was not until 1982 that Congress deemed it necessary to make a fundamental change in the federal judicial system by creating the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

From time to time in our history, Congress has responded to structural problems in the judicial system by creating special courts such as the Territorial Courts (which exercised power in the western territories until such sections were admitted as States of the Union or in such areas as the Philippines until they were given their independence); the Court of Private Land Claims (founded to hear and determine claims founded upon Spanish or Mexican grants in the southwestern territory); the United States Court for China; and the Choctaw and Chickasaw Citizenship Court (created in 1902 to hear and determine membership claims in those two Indian Tribes). Special Courts created by Congress have also included the Courts for the District of Columbia, the Court of Claims, the Customs Court, and the Court of Customs and Patents Appeals. Although most of the special courts no longer exist, the District of Columbia Courts remain a vital part of the federal judicial system. The Court of Claims, the Customs Court, and the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals passed out of existence in the early 1980s, but laid an important foundation for the creation of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, which established the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, continued the tradition of Congressional response to special needs of the judicial system. The Federal Courts Improvement Act had three stated purposes: to create an appellate forum capable of exercising nationwide jurisdiction over appeals in areas of the law where Congress determines there is a special need for nationwide uniformity; to improve the administration of the patent law by centralizing appeals in patent cases; and to provide an upgraded and better organized trial forum for government claims cases. These goals were accomplished by merging the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs and Patents Appeals to create the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The bill also created a new Article I trial forum known as the United States Claims Court, which inherited the trial jurisdiction of the Court of Claims.

The Tax Court and the Military Courts are not considered formally to be a part of the federal judicial system. The Tax Court is an independent agency in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, while the Military Courts are concerned with the administration of justice in the Armed Forces. Although they are not part of the federal judicial system, both courts are subject in important respects to the limitations and requirements of the Federal Constitution.

The structure of the present federal judicial system may be summarized as follows:

At the top is the Supreme Court of the United States with limited but important original jurisdiction; with broad appellate jurisdiction over the lower federal courts; and with appellate jurisdiction over the highest court of every State where its judgment turns upon a substantial federal question.

At an intermediate level are the Courts of Appeals for the eleven Judicial Circuits. Except for those limited cases where there is a direct appeal from a trial court to the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeals have the responsibility of reviewing decisions of the District Courts. The parties have a limited right to seek further review by the United States Supreme Court, but the Courts of Appeals are the courts of last resort in the vast bulk of both civil and criminal cases which are decided in the United States Courts.

The basic trial courts in the federal system are the District Courts. The first Judiciary Act of 1789 created the District Courts, but limited their jurisdiction to admiralty cases and minor crimes. Later they became bankruptcy courts and were given jurisdiction of all criminal charges except capital offenses. When the Judicial Code of 1911 abolished the Circuit Courts, the District Courts took over the trial jurisdiction of those Courts.

The judicial structure recently has undergone another change due to the creation of the United States Bankruptcy Courts. Although still an adjunct to the District Courts, the Bankruptcy Courts have, since 1984, resolved virtually all matters arising in or related to a bankruptcy case, and all matters arising under the Bankruptcy Code.

The District Courts remain, however, the basic federal trial courts and have jurisdiction in the areas of federal criminal charges, admiralty, and of civil actions where there is diversity of citizenship between the claimants, or which involve an undecided question of federal law, or where some statute of the United States specifically confers jurisdiction upon the courts to hear disputes of that nature.

<< Table of Contents >>

THE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL TRIAL COURTS

State trial courts usually have broad inherent judicial powers, but the lower federal courts have only the jurisdiction and power which the Congress specifically allocated to them. Historically, Congress has granted the federal trial courts power to hear cases involving certain types of private civil litigation, civil litigation involving the United States, and prosecutions for offenses under the laws of the United States. In addition, some cases begun in the state courts may be removed to the federal courts.

Perhaps the most important source of private civil litigation in the federal courts has been the courts' jurisdiction to decide controversies between citizens of different states where the dispute involves at least a minimum amount. The amount necessary was originally set at $500 and has been increased from time to time to its present level of $75,000.

Other principal sources of private civil litigation in federal trial courts are admiralty and maritime causes and so-called "federal question" cases which, surprisingly, could not be brought in federal courts until after the Civil War.

The early Congresses used sparingly their authority to vest the federal courts with jurisdiction of cases arising under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States. The only significant area in which this power was exercised was in giving federal courts the power to remove and hear proceedings commenced in state courts against federal officers. It was not until the Judiciary Act of 1875 that the federal trial courts were given general jurisdiction of suits of a civil nature "arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States" where the amount in controversy exceeded $500.

The tendency in the second half of the courts' two hundred year history has been to reduce diversity jurisdiction, while broadening and increasing the power and role of the court in the area of federal question jurisdiction.

Since 1895, Congress has created innumerable federal rights and provided for their enforcement in the federal courts, often without regard to the amounts in controversy. Under these measures federal courts have been opened to damage and injunction suits under such measures as the Interstate Commerce Acts, the Antitrust laws, the Copyright and Trademark laws, the Federal Employers Liability Acts, the statutes providing for the redress of injuries of seamen, Internal Revenue laws, Postal matters, Immigration and Naturalization proceedings, the Securities and Exchange laws, the National Labor Relations Act, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and many others.

In contrast, in this same period the courts' diversity jurisdiction has been steadily narrowed by statutes and by decisions of the courts themselves. Still further limitations are under consideration.

These trends reflect concomitant changes in our social and political structures. Originally, the most deep-felt need for federal courts in the field of civil litigation was to provide an impartial tribunal to hear controversies between citizens of the different states. Increasingly, the emphasis has shifted to providing federal tribunals to enforce federally created rights.

Just as expansion of federally-based rights and the power of federal tribunals to enforce them reflect the increasing presence of the Federal Government in our lives, so the narrowing of diversity jurisdiction may reveal the decline of sectionalism and regional bias as a significant factor in our society.

<< Table of Contents >>

THE FEDERAL COURTS IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Prior to 1818

In 1789, Congress exercised its power under the Federal Constitution to establish lower federal courts by establishing a two-tiered court system below the Supreme Court. A District Court, presided over by a district court judge, was established for each state. Circuit Courts, with both Nisi Prius and Appellate power, were also established. The country was divided into three judicial circuits, designated as southern, middle and eastern. Pennsylvania was in the middle district. There were no circuit judges, but Justices of the Supreme Court and District Court Judges sat on the Circuit Courts. In 1801 the number of judicial circuits was increased to six, with Pennsylvania being assigned to the Third Circuit, where it has remained ever since.

Under the Act of 1789, provision was made for sessions of the district court and of the circuit court for the district of Pennsylvania to be held both in Philadelphia and in York, but in 1796 Congress decided that the sessions should be held only in Philadelphia.

The Judiciary Act of 1801 divided Pennsylvania into Eastern and Western districts, with sessions of the Eastern District to be held in Philadelphia and those of the Western District at Bedford. This Act was repealed in 1802 and the federal circuit and district courts continued to be held only in Philadelphia, as before, until 1818.

<< Table of Contents >>

After 1818

The Western District of Pennsylvania was established by the Act of April 20, 1818, which divided the Commonwealth into two judicial districts. The Western District consisted of the counties of Fayette, Greene, Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Somerset, Bedford, Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin, Clearfield, McKean, Potter, Jefferson, Cambria, Indiana, Armstrong, Butler, Beaver, Mercer, Crawford, Venango, Erie and Warren. The Act provided that the residue of the State should compose the Eastern District.

The Act of 1818 also authorized the President to appoint a District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania and provided for a salary of $1600 per year. In addition to its jurisdiction as a District Court, the District Court for the Western District was given all the Nisi Prius power of the Circuit Court within the District, but appeals from the District Court of the Western District were taken to the Circuit Court in the Eastern District. This was changed by the Act of May 15,1820, which, in effect, gave the District Court for the Western District all of the powers of a Circuit Court.

Originally, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania held sessions only in Pittsburgh, but in May 1824, Congress altered the judicial districts in Pennsylvania by adding the counties of Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Union, Northumberland, Columbia, Luzerne and Lycoming to the Western District. This Act also provided that the Court should hold two sessions every year at Williamsport, in addition to the sessions held at Pittsburgh.

In 1866, Congress provided that the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania should also begin holding sessions in Erie, Pennsylvania. The first session of the District Court in Erie was held in January 1867, with Judge Wilson McCandless presiding.

In 1901, the Middle District of Pennsylvania was created, removing from the Western District all of the counties which had been added to it by the Act of 1824 and in addition severing Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin and Potter counties.

Most recently, in 1989 the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania acted upon a longstanding Congressional authorization and announced that it would hold sessions in Johnstown, Cambria County, with Judge D. Brooks Smith presiding.

After the Western District of Pennsylvania was established in 1818, President James Monroe appointed Jonathan H.Walker to be first Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Act of 1818 called for the first session of the Court to be held in June 1818, but the Court did not get organized in time and the first session was held in Pittsburgh on December 7, 1818, in the Courthouse in Pittsburgh which then occupied the western half of Market Square. All sessions of the United States Courts held in Pittsburgh until 1841 were held in the Market Square Courthouse, for it was not until 1853 that court facilities were provided for in a Federal Building in Pittsburgh.

In 1841, the Federal Courthouse moved into the new State Courthouse which had been constructed on Grant's Hill, at the corner of Grant, Fourth and Ross Streets and in which Federal Courts were given space on the Second floor, along with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The first Federal Building in Pittsburgh was erected in 1853 at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street on the site of the present Park Building. Known variously as the "Custom House," "Pittsburgh Postoffice" and "Federal Government Building", this building was the first Federal home for the United States Courts in the Western District of Pennsylvania and sessions were held there until July 1891, when the courts were removed to the newly constructed United States Postoffice and Courthouse Building at Fourth Avenue and Smithfield Streets. Federal Courts were held at the Fourth Avenue Courthouse until November 7, 1934, when the present Courthouse at Grant Street and Seventh Avenue was opened.

The Federal Building and Post Office at Fourth Avenue and Smithfield Street has been razed, but many of the elegant decorative features and architectural details of the handsome old building have been preserved at various sites throughout the city. Much of the decorative ironwork and decorative carving that adorned the building can be seen at the headquarters of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation location at Station Square. The collection of remnants preserved by the Foundation includes beautifully carved Federal Eagles. Granite statutes of the Goddess of Justice are also on that site, just outside the Station Square Shops. A statue has also been preserved in the courtyard adjacent to the building that was formerly the "Edge", a restaurant and motel that overlooked the city from Mt. Washington.

<< Table of Contents >>

THE JUDGES OF THE DISTRICT COURT FOR

THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Since its establishment in 1818, only 41 persons have served as Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Counting those serving as Senior Judges, eleven of the 41 are presently serving on the Court. Thus, more than one-fourth of those who have ever been Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania are presently serving. This is not surprising, when one considers that it was not until 1909 that the complement of the Court consisted of more than one judge.

The caseload of the Court has burgeoned since the beginning of this Century and this has been reflected by the increase in the number of judges sitting on the Court.

Some of the judges who have served in the District Court over the years have been well-known figures in local legal history. Others apparently had quiet or undistinguished careers, for little can be learned about them.

Among those who have served the longest on the Court include Judge Thomas Irwin, who served from 1832 to 1859; Judge Robert Gibson, who served from 1922 to 1949; and former Chief Judge Wallace S. Gourley who was appointed in 1945 and served until 1976.

The longest period of judicial service recorded by any western Pennsylvanian, however, was the record fifty-five years rendered by Judge Joseph Buffington, who served as a Judge of the District Court from 1892 to 1906, when he was appointed to the Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Buffington served actively on that Court until 1938 when he took Senior status. Thereafter, he frequently presided over the Court as its Senior Judge until his death on October 21, 1947. His remarkable career encompassed a span which covered nearly a third of the Republic's existence at the time of his death.

Many living persons remember Judge Buffington and many currently active members of the Bar have argued cases before him. Ida O. Creskoff, retired Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, wrote to the Editors of her memories of the famous Colonial courtroom over which Judge Buffington presided for many years as Senior Judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. There were three chairs for the Judges, because that was the full complement of the Court. Logs burned in the beautiful fireplace on cold days and the lawyers sat in comfortable leather chairs. The woodwork was a work of art.

Below are listed the named of the persons who have served as judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, including those serving at the present time.

Jonathan M. Walker-April 20, 1818-January, 1824

William Wilkins--May 12, 1824-April 14, 1831

Thomas Irwin-March 2, 1832-January 2, 1859

Wilson McCandless-February 8, 1859-July 24, 1876

Winthrop W. Ketchum-June 26, 1876-December 6, 1879

Marcus W. Acheson-January 14, 1880-February 7, 1891

James H. Reed-February 20, 1891-February 15, 1892

Joseph Buffington-February 23, 1882-September, 1906

Nathaniel Ewing-September 25, 1906-January 31, 1908

James S. Young-February 1, 1908-February 25, 1914

Charles P. Orr-April 8, 1909-May 16, 1922

W. H. Seward Thomson-July 21, 1914-February 21, 1929

Robert M. Gibson-July 24, 1922-January 31, 1949

Frederic P. Schoonmaker-December 22, 1922-September 6, 1945

Nelson McVicar-September 14, 1928-February 1, 1951

Wallace S. Gourley-December 17, 1945-September 23, 1976 (Senior status 8-4-69)

Owen McIntosh Burns-November 3, 1949--October 26, 1952

Rabe F. Marsh, Jr.-June 26, 1950 -  (Senior status 1-31-77 - Retired 4-1-86)

William Alvah Stewart-May 4, 1951-April 9, 1953

Frederick V. Follmer-August 7, 1946-May 31, 1955

(Originally assigned to all three districts in Pennsylvania, Judge Follmer's assignment was limited to the Middle District after Judge Watson's retirement in 1955. He continued to serve until December 30, 1957.)

Joseph P. Willson-July 24, 1953 - (Senior status 10-18-68 - Retired 8-3-98) 

John L. Miller-June 18, 1954-July 20, 1978 (Senior status 10-1-71)

John Mcllvaine-August 18,1955-July 1, 1963

Herbert P. Sorg-August 19, 1955-March 11, 1979 (Senior status 12-20-76)

Edward Dumbauld-August 1, 1961 - (Senior status 12-31-76 - Retired 9-6-97)

Louis Rosenberg-November 20,1961 - (Senior status 1-5-76 - Retired 12-31-89)

Gerald J. Weber-October 2, 1964-August 28, 1989 (Senior status 12-31-88)

Joseph F. Weis, Jr.-May 5,1970 -March 27,1973 (Appointed to Court of Appeals-Third Circuit)

William W. Knox--October 14,1970-August 30,1981

Hubert I. Teitelbaum-January 11, 1971 -(Senior status 7-2-85 - Retired 1-5-95)

Barron P. McCune-January 22, 1971-(Senior status-4-1-85-Retired-4-30-95)

Ralph F. Scalera-December 17, 1971-May 1, 1976 (Returned to private practice)

Daniel J. Snyder, Jr.-April 26,1973-May 11, 1980

Maurice B. Cohill, Jr.-June 1, 1976 to present (Senior status-11-28-94)

Paul A. Simmons-May 3, 1978-(Senior status-6-1-90-Retired 12-31-90)

Gustave Diamond-May 24, 1978 to present (Senior status 2-1-94)

Donald E. Ziegler-May 22, 1978 to present (Senior status 10-1-01-Retired 05-31-03)

Alan N. Bloch-November 21, 1979 to present (Senior status 4-12-97)

Glenn E. Mencer-April 16, 1982 to present (Senior status 4-18-94-Retired 4-30-94)

Carol Los Mansmann-April 8,1982 (Appointed to Court of Appeals-Third Circuit 4-22-85)

William L. Standish-November 30,1987 to present (Senior status 3-1-02)

D. Brooks Smith-November 1, 1988 (Appointed to Court of Appeals-Third Circuit 9-23-02)

Donald J. Lee-April 6, 1990 to present (Senior status 4-6-00-Retired 1-13-03)

Timothy K. Lewis-July 1, 1991 (Appointed to Court of Appeals-Third Circuit 10-23-92-resigned 6-30-99)

Donetta W. Ambrose- January 3, 1994 to present

Gary L. Lancaster-December 17, 1993 to present

Robert J. Cindrich-October 12, 1994 to present

Sean J. McLaughlin-October 13, 1994 to present

Joy Flowers Conti-August 30, 2002 to present

David Stewart Cercone-September 12, 2002 to present

Terrence F. McVerry-September 27, 2002 to present

Arthur J. Schwab-January 1, 2003 to present

Kim R. Gibson-October 20, 2003 to present

Thomas M. Hardiman-October 30, 2003 to present

The following judges have served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania:

<< Table of Contents >>

JUDGES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS FROM THE

WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

The original United States Circuit Courts were not the counterparts of the present Courts of Appeals. Although the Circuit Courts had appellate jurisdiction they retained over the District Courts which until 1891, they also had Nisi Prius jurisdiction which they retained until the Judicial Code of 1911 transferred these functions to the District Courts.

Except for a brief period under the Act of 1801, there were no judges of the Circuit Court before 1869, for District Judges and Justices of the Supreme Court served in this capacity. The Act of 1801 provided for the appointment of Circuit Judges and in the period from February 1801 until the repeal of the Act in July 1802, three men served as Circuit Judges for the Third Circuit: William Griffith, Richard Bassett and William Tilghman. None of these men was from the western part of the State and, of course, the Western District had not yet been established. In 1869, Congress provided a circuit judgeship for each of the nine existing circuits. Under this Act, the Circuit Court could be held by either the circuit justice, the circuit judge or a district judge. William McKennan of Washington County was appointed circuit judge of the Third Circuit on December 22,1869, and served until January 3,1891.

The term "Circuit Judge" as used today refers to those persons who have served on the Federal Appellate Courts created by the Judiciary Act of 1891.

The following Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania were appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit:

Marcus W. Acheson-February 9, 1891-June 21, 1906

Joseph Buffington-September, 1906-October 21, 1947

Joseph F. Weis, Jr.-March 1973 to present

Carol Los Mansmann-April 1985-March 9, 2002

Timothy K. Lewis-October 23, 1992-June 30, 1999

D. Brooks Smith-September 23, 2002 to present

In addition, the following individuals who resided in the Western District also served as Judges in the United States court of Appeals for the Third Circuit:

Charles Alvin Jones-July 25, 1939-December 31, 1944

John J. O'Connell--October 15,1945-December 16,1949

Austin L. Staley-July 31,1950-August 3,1978

David Stahl-October 31, 1968-February 21, 1970

Ruggero J. Aldisert-August 22, 1968 to present (Senior status since 1989)

Richard Lowell Nygaard-May 21, 1988 to present

Judge Charles Alvin Jones resigned from the Court in December 1944 to accept appointment to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and later became Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reviews decisions of the District Courts of Delaware, New Jersey, and the Virgin Islands and of the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania. Sessions of the Court are held in Philadelphia and occasionally in the Virgin Islands. From time to time in recent years, the Court has held sessions in Pittsburgh.

Judges of the Court of Appeals sit, with Judges of the District Court, in proceedings in the District Courts where an injunction is sought on Federal constitutional grounds against the enforcement of a State statute or an Act of Congress on the ground that it is repugnant to the United States Constitution. From time to time, District Judges also sit with the Court of Appeals and participate in decisions of that court.

<< Table of Contents >>

THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT AND

THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Justices of the United States Supreme Court have always taken a role in the administration of the lower federal courts. In the early days, they frequently sat as trial judges in the circuit courts, but the practice gradually ceased.

In the period from 1789 to 1801 there was no formal assignment of a Supreme Court Justice to any particular Circuit, but the Justices would sit in each of the three circuits which then existed. Beginning in 1802, provision was made for the assignment of a particular Justice of the Supreme Court to each of the federal circuits.

Since 1802, the following Justices had been assigned to the Third Judicial Circuit: Bushrod Washington, 1802-1829; Henry Baldwin, 1830-1844; Robert Cooper Grier, 1846-1870; William Strong, 1870-1880; Joseph P. Bradley, 1880-1892; John Marshall Harlan, 1892 (Feb. 1 to Oct. 1); George Shiras, Jr., 1892-1903; Henry B. Brown, 1903-1906; William H. Moody, 1906-1910; Horace H. Lurton, 1910-1912; Mahlon Pitney, 1912-1922; Edward T. Sanford, 1923 (Jan. 9 to Feb. 20); Pierce Butler, 1923-1925; Louis D. Brandeis, 1925-1930; Owen T. Roberts, 1930-1945; Harold H. Burton, 1945-1956; William J. Brennan, Jr., 1956 to present.

Only three residents of the Western District of Pennsylvania have served as Justices of the Supreme Court. These were Henry Baldwin, Robert Cooper Grier, and George Shiras, Jr.

Henry Baldwin was born in Connecticut in 1780. He graduated from Yale College and later studied law in the office of Alexander J. Dallas of Philadelphia. After he was admitted to the Bar, Baldwin moved to Pittsburgh and was admitted to practice before the Allegheny County Courts in 1801. He became a partner with Tarleton Bates and Walter Forward, both well known lawyers of early Pittsburgh. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1816 and became a friend and supporter of Andrew Jackson. When Bushrod Washington died in November, 1829, three prominent Pennsylvanians were in contention for nomination to the Supreme Court to fill his seat: Horace Binney, John Bannister Gibson and Henry Baldwin. Baldwin was finally designated by President Jackson in 1830. He served on the Supreme Court until his death on April 21, 1844, after a somewhat surprisingly undistinguished career as a Supreme Court justice, much of it marred by illness.

Robert C. Grier was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in March 1794. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1812, and after studying law in the office of a Northumberland lawyer was admitted to the Bar in 1817. Although not a resident of Allegheny County, in 1833 he was appointed a Judge of the State Courts in Allegheny County and moved to Pittsburgh. In 1846, he was designated by President James K. Polk to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Baldwin. He served until his resignation because of poor health, in 1869.

George Shiras, Jr. has been the only native western Pennsylvanian to serve on the United States Supreme Court. He was born in Pittsburgh in January 1832 and studied at Ohio University at Athens, Ohio and Yale. He read law in the office of former Common Pleas Court Judge Hopewell Hepburn and became a partner with him until Judge Hepburn's death. He later practiced with his two sons. At the age of sixty, Shiras was appointed to the Supreme Court in July 1892 by President Benjamin Harrison. He retired in 1903, fulfilling a personal commitment to retire at age seventy. He lived to age 92 in good mental and physical health, dying in Pittsburgh in 1924. One historian has said of him:

". . Shiras' tenure on the bench deserved more attention from commentators ... (than he received at his death) ... for he had been an exceptionally competent Justice-independent minded, though generally middle-of-the-road, and, in a modest way, a defender of civil liberties."

<< Table of Contents >>

DONETTA W. AMBROSE

The Honorable DONETTA W. AMBROSE was born on November 5, 1945 in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Chester J. and Mary Groza Wypiski. She married J. Raymond Ambrose, Jr. on August 19, 1972. They have one son, J. Raymond Ambrose, III.

She graduated from Arnold High School in 1963, Duquesne University in 1967, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and was awarded a J.D. cum laude at the Duquesne University School of Law in 1970. She was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in December 1970 and is a member of the Westmoreland County, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, American and Women's Bar Associations. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the American Judicature Society, the National Association of Women Judges, and the Inns of Court.

She was a law clerk to the late Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Louis L. Manderino from 1970 to 1972, an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1972 to 1974, an Assistant District Attorney for Westmoreland County from 1977 to 1982 and engaged in the general practice of law from 1974 to 1982. She was elected to the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas in November of 1981 on which she served from January 1982 until her appointment to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on November 24, 1993.

She has been active in the Pennsylvania Commission for Women in the Profession, Big Brothers and Sisters of Westmoreland County and various civic, religious and charitable activities. She resides with her family in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania.

<< Table of Contents >>

MAURICE B. COHILL, JR., Senior Judge

The Honorable MAURICE B. COHILL, JR. was born in Ben Avon Borough, near Pittsburgh on November 26, 1929. A widower, he is the father of four children and has six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Following graduation from Princeton University, he served for two years in the Marine Corps with the Second Marine Air Wing and was discharged as a captain. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Law School where he was on the Pitt Law Review and then engaged in the general practice of law until he was appointed Judge of the Juvenile Court of Allegheny County by Governor William Scranton on July 20, 1965. He was elected to a full ten-year term on November 1, 1965. Because of the 1968 Pennsylvania Constitutional Amendments, he became a judge in the Family Division of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County on January 1, 1969. On November 4, 1975, he was retained by the electorate for another ten-year term.

On June 1, 1976, he resigned from the Court of Common Pleas and was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He became Chief Judge of that Court on July 2, 1985 and served in that capacity for seven years. On December 1, 1994, he took senior status but remains active with the court.

He is the Chairman of the Board of Fellows of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, which he established in Pittsburgh in 1973. He is a former Vice President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and continues to serve on many of its committees. He is Past President of the Pennsylvania Council of Juvenile Court Judges, the Board of Directors of Pennsylvania George Jr. Republic in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and the Allegheny County Bar Association.

<< Table of Contents >>

GUSTAVE DIAMOND, Senior Judge

The Honorable GUSTAVE DIAMOND was born in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, on January 29, 1928. He served in the United States Navy from 1946-1948. He received an A.B. Degree from Duke University in 1951 and a J.D. Degree from Duquesne University Law School in 1956. He is married to the former Emma Louise Scarton, and has a daughter, a stepdaughter, and a grandson.

Judge Diamond was admitted to the Bar in 1958. He served as law clerk to the late United States District Judge Rabe F. Marsh, Jr. from 1956 to 1961. He was an Assistant and First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1961 to 1963, and the United States Attorney for that district from 1963 to 1969. From 1969 to 1978, he practiced law in Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania. On May 2, 1978, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter United States District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania. On July 1, 1992, he became Chief Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania. On February 1, 1994, Judge Diamond took senior status with the court.

Judge Diamond was appointed a member of the United States Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on November 2, 1988, and on October 1, 1990, was appointed Chairman of that Committee by the Chief Justice for a term of three years. He was reappointed by the Chief Justice as Chair for an additional two years beginning October, 1993.

On October 1, 1978, Judge Diamond received an award from The Century Club of Duquesne University as one of the 100 outstanding graduates of the University during its first century.

In 1993, Judge Diamond became the third recipient of the prestigious Solon Award of the AHEPA. The award previously had been bestowed upon Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Judge John Manor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. On May 9, 1998, Judge Diamond was the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Judge Diamond is a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association, Washington County Bar Association and Federal Bar Association. His office is in the United States Courthouse, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

<< Table of Contents >>

ALAN N. BLOCH, Senior Judge

The Honorable ALAN N. BLOCH was appointed United States District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania on November 2, l979, and entered on duty November 2l, l979.

He is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, receiving a B.S. degree in l953; and the University of Pittsburgh, receiving a J.D. degree in l958. He was a member of the firm of Wirtzman, Sikov & Love from l958 until l969; and was a partner in the firm of Flaherty & Bloch from l969 until l979.

He served in the United States Army from l953 to l955; the Pennsylvania Army National Guard from l955 to l959; and the United States Air Force Reserves from l959 to l963.

From 1987 to 1992, he served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Court Security. He served as a member of the Rule ll Task Force established by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He served as the Chairman of the Joint Task Force established by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to study the problems of proper representation of death penalty defendants.

He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.

<< Table of Contents >>

WILLIAM L. STANDISH, Senior Judge

The Honorable WILLIAM L. STANDISH received his B.A. Degree in 1953 from Yale University and his LL.B. Degree in 1956 from the University of Virginia.

In 1956, Judge Standish joined the firm of Reed Smith Shaw & McClay. He began as a law clerk and left in 1980 as a general partner specializing in civil litigation. From 1980 to 1987 he was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. In 1987, he was appointed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is a member of professional associations including the American Judicature Society, the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Inns of Court. He is an honorary member and former Governor and Treasurer of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.

Judge Standish is a Trustee of the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and the YMCA of Sewickley, and he is a former Trustee of the Staunton Farm Foundation. He is a Trustee and a former Director and Secretary of the YMCA of Sewickley, a former Trustee of the Leukemia Society of America, a former Trustee and President of its Western Pennsylvania Chapter, a former Director and President of the Yale Club of Pittsburgh, a former Regional Representative of the Association of Yale Alumni, a former Trustee and Treasurer of the Laughlin Children's Center, and a former Corporator and Secretary of Sewickley Cemetery.

Judge Standish is married to Marguerite Hillman Oliver. He has four children.

<< Table of Contents >>

CHIEF JUDGE GARY L. LANCASTER

The Honorable GARY L. LANCASTER was born on August 14, 1949 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and attended the public schools there. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Slippery Rock State College in 1971 and a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1974.

He was admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1974 and thereafter served as a regional counsel for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and as an Assistant District Attorney for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In 1978, he entered the private practice of law, specializing in criminal and civil litigation. He was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge and took the oath of office on October 23, 1987. He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President William J. Clinton and took the oath of office on December 17, 1993.

Judge Lancaster is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the Homer S. Brown Law Association, and various civic, religious and charitable groups. Additionally, he is the author of several law-related articles and other published works. He resides in the City of Pittsburgh with his son Matthew.

<< Table of Contents >>

LISA PUPO LENIHAN

Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan was born in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania on September 3, 1958 to Albert and Vilma Pupo. She graduated cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980 and magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1983, where she was a member of the Law Review.

She worked as an associate with the law firm of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote from 1983 until 1986. In 1987 she was one of five founding partners of the law firm Burns, White & Hickton and became managing partner of the firm in 1997. In 2000 she joined the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as Corporate Secretary and Assistant Counsel. She was appointed to the bench in 2004.

From 1998 to 2004 she served on the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as board chairperson from 2002 to 2004. Magistrate Judge Lenihan is a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is past president of the Law Alumni Association’s Board of Governors. She served as Co-chair of the PBA’s Commission on Women in the Profession in 1998 and remains a member of the Commission.

She currently serves on the board of the Parental Stress Center and has served on various other non-profit boards in the Pittsburgh area. She has lectured for PBI and published numerous articles in various legal journals. She serves on the Executive Council of the Women in the Law Division of the ACBA and is a past member of the ACBA Judiciary Committee, along with various other ACBA sections.

Magistrate Judge Lenihan was the recipient of the “Susan B. Anthony Award” given by the Women’s Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania in 2004; the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Women’s Association “Woman of the Year” award in 1999 and the Carlow College “Woman of Spirit” award in 1998.

Perhaps most importantly, she is the proud mother of Patrick, Alexandra and Christopher Lenihan.

<< Table of Contents >>

SEAN J. MCLAUGHLIN

The Honorable SEAN J. McLAUGHLIN was born on January 4, 1955 in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was sworn in as a District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania on October 13, 1994. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1977 and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1980. Upon graduation from law school, Judge McLaughlin clerked for the Honorable William W. Knox of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1980-1981. In 1981 he entered private practice with the firm of Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C. where he specialized in civil litigation.

Judge McLaughlin has been a frequent lecturer at seminars sponsored by the Erie County Bar Association, as well as the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. In addition, he is active in the Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Inns of Court where he serves as a Master of a Pupilage Group.

He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Erie County Bar Association. He and his wife have one daughter and they reside in Erie, Pennsylvania.

<< Table of Contents >>

JOY FLOWERS CONTI

The Honorable JOY FLOWERS CONTI was born in Kane, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1948. She graduated from Duquesne University in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts, and was awarded a J.D. degree summa cum laude from Duquesne University School of Law in 1973. She was Editor-In-Chief of the Duquesne Law Review.

After graduation from law school, she served as a law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Louis L. Mandrino (deceased). In 1974, she was the first woman lawyer to be hired by Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Johnson & Hutchinson, now known as Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP. In 1976 she accepted a position as a member of the faculty of Duquesne University School of Law. She became a tenured professor of law at Duquesne University School of Law and taught courses in civil procedure, corporations, corporate finance, corporate reorganizations and bankruptcy. In 1982, she returned to private practice with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, and became a partner in 1983. In 1996, she joined Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation as a shareholder. She concentrated her practice on bankruptcy, creditors' and debtors' rights, healthcare, general corporate and nonprofit corporation law. She has authored and lectured on bankruptcy and corporate law.

She is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania, the Federal Bar Association and the American Inns of Court - University of Pittsburgh Chapter. She is a former president of the Allegheny County Bar Association and former chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association's Young Lawyers' Section. She also served as secretary and a trustee of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She was a Governor-at-Large of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and was the chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section. She served in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, and she is currently serving in the Pennsylvania Bar Association's House of Delegates. She was a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Task Force on Legal Services for the Poor. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law.

She is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Judicature Society. She is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, the American Bar Foundation, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She was president of the Historical Society of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She has also served on numerous non-profit boards throughout her career.

In 2002, she received the Outstanding Leadership Award in Support of Legal Services given by Pennsylvania Legal Services. In 1995, she was the second recipient of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Anne X. Alpern Award, which annually recognizes one outstanding woman lawyer or judge. Also in 1995, she received the Vectors/Pittsburgh Award for Woman of the Year in Law and Government. In 1993, she received the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Tribute to Women Award for Professionals and the Allegheny County Bar Association's Pro Bono Award. In 1981, she was recognized as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Women in America and as the Outstanding Young Woman in Pennsylvania.

She is married to Anthony T. Conti and they have three children.

<< Table of Contents >>

DAVID STEWART CERCONE

Judge David Stewart Cercone was appointed Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush in 2002. Prior to his appointment, Judge Cercone had been a member of the Pennsylvania judiciary for twenty years.. He began his judicial career in 1982 after being elected district justice for the communities of Stowe and McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. In 1985, at the age of thirty-two, Judge Cercone became the youngest person ever elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. In both elections, Cercone was the nominee of both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

Before becoming a federal judge, Judge Cercone served in both the criminal and civil divisions of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. In 1993, he was appointed administrative judge for the criminal division by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In that capacity, Judge Cercone supervised fourteen judges and over two hundred court employees. During his tenure, Cercone implemented an accelerated plea docked to prevent jail overcrowding and to reduce case backlogs. He also established the first “drug court” in western Pennsylvania for the rehabilitation of drug offenders.

Judge Cercone received his Bachelors of Arts degree, magna cum laude, for Westminister College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, in 1974. He graduated from Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1977. Following law school, Cercone clerked for Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul R. Zavarella. In 1979, he was appointed an assistant district attorney for Allegheny County, and specialized in the prosecution of narcotics and violent crime cases.

In addition to his judicial career, Judge Cercone has been an active teacher. Since 1982, Cercone has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He has also been a part-time faculty member at Robert Morris University. In 2001, he was selected by students at the University of Pittsburgh to be the recipient of the first Student’s Choice Award for outstanding instruction.

Judge Cercone currently serves on many committees of the Allegheny County Bar Association, and is a former member of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania. Since 1999, he has served on the board of visitors of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.

Judge Cercone and his wife, Mary Ann, reside in Stowe Township, Pennsylvania, with their three children.

<< Table of Contents >>

TERRENCE F. MCVERRY

The Honorable Terrence F. McVerry was born on September 16, 1943, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the youngest of four sons of the late Anna A. and Thomas L. McVerry. He received his B.A. degree from Duquesne University in 1965 and a Juris Doctor degree from its school of law in 1968. Following graduation, he commenced active duty with the United States Army Reserves afterwhich he served as a commissioned legal officer in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard until his Honorable Discharge as a Captain in 1977.

He served as a trial prosecutor in the Office of the District Attorney of Allegheny County from 1969 to 1973. Thereafter, he engaged in the general practice of law for the next twenty-five years with the last ten as an active trial practitioner in the medical professional negligence field with the firm of Grogan, Graffam, McGinley & Lucchino. In 1978, McVerry was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and represented a number of south hills communities in the General Assembly for six terms through 1990. He continued in the private practice of law until May, 1998, when Governor Tom Ridge nominated him to fill a vacancy on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny. He served as a Judge in the Family Division of that Court until January, 2001. Thereafter, he became the Solicitor of Allegheny County serving as the Chief Legal Officer and Director of the Law Department during the advent of Allegheny County’s new Home Rule Government.

In January, 2002, McVerry was nominated by President George W. Bush to be a Federal District Court Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 3, 2002, and began serving as a Judge on September 27, 2002.

Judge McVerry is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association and Federal Judges Association. He is a former member of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges. He also served as a member of the Allegheny County Charter Drafting Committee which prepared the Home Rule Charter for the new form of government in Allegheny County which took effect in January, 2000.

Judge McVerry and his wife, Judy, have three children and several grandchildren.

<< Table of Contents >>

ARTHUR J. SCHWAB

The Honorable ARTHUR J. SCHWAB was born in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1946. 

He graduated from North Hills High School in 1964 and Grove City College in 1968 (A.B. cum laude), and was awarded a J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1972.  He was on the Editorial Board of the Virginia Law Review and Order of the Coif.  Thereafter, he clerked for the Honorable Collins J. Seitz, then-Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1972-1973 term). 

He worked at Reed Smith LLP from 1973 to 1990 serving as the Deputy Head of the Litigation Group and the founding Chair of its TECHLEX (technology law) Group.  He joined Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation in the Fall of 1990 as Chair of Litigation (1990-1999) and then as Chief Counsel - Complex Litigation (2000 to 2002). 

During his thirty (30) years in private practice, he established a nation-wide litigation practice.  He worked in the areas of trade secrets, confidential information, employment agreements (covenants-not-to-compete and confidentiality agreements), software copyright infringement, trademark, unfair competition and diversion of corporate opportunities. 

As part of his national litigation practice, Mr. Schwab was a frequent speaker at numerous seminars and conferences relating to trial strategies, damages, litigation ethics, evidence, transfer of technology, law and technology, trade secrets and employment agreements.  He was quoted in numerous national and regional printed media and published several articles. 

He is past Chair of the Civil Litigation Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association; past President of the American Inns of Court-Pittsburgh Chapter; past member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County; and past Chair of the Council of the Civil Litigation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. 

He is listed in the 2003-2004, 10th edition of The Best Lawyers in America for both business litigation and intellectual property law.  He serves on the faculty of the Trial Advocacy Institute of the University of Virginia School of Law and teaches an Intellectual Property course at Grove City College. 

He co-authored Chapter 1, "Introduction to Federal Practice," Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial -- 3rd Circuit, American Inns of Court Series, Federal Practice Guide, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company (1996). 

<< Table of Contents >>

JUDGE KIM R. GIBSON

The Honorable KIM R. GIBSON was born in Trenton, New Jersey on May 29, 1948, the son of James Russell and Eleanor Martha Gibson. He is married to the former Rebecca L. Arbogast and has six children, Laura, Erin, Adam, Matthew, Sean and Connor, and one granddaughter, Abigail Gibson.
Judge Gibson graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was awarded a Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Dickinson School of Law in 1975. He was an editor of the Dickinson Law Review. He entered active duty in the United States Army in June 1970 and following completion of airborne and ranger training, he served as an armor officer until October 1975 and as a JAG officer until August 1978. Following his release from active duty he continued to serve in the United States Army Reserve and retired as a Colonel, JAG, USAR in 1996. In 1991 he and his JAG Detachment were activated during the first Gulf war.
Judge Gibson was in private practice as a sole practitioner in Somerset, Pennsylvania from 1978 through 1997. During that time he served as a public defender, attorney for Children and Youth Services, solicitor for a school district and various municipalities and as solicitor for Somerset County. He was elected to the Somerset County Court of Common Pleas in 1997. During his time on the common pleas bench, he was instrumental in establishing Victim Impact Panels and a juvenile drug court (only the second such court in Pennsylvania).
He was appointed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush on September 23, 2003.
In addition to being a Little League coach/manager for many years, Judge Gibson is the Co-chairman of the Flight 93 Task Force which is a group composed of representatives from all over the nation tasked by congress with the goal of establishing a permanent national memorial to the passengers and crew of Flight 93 and a national park at the site where Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County on September 11, 2001. He resides with his family in Somerset Township, Pennsylvania.

<< Table of Contents >>

THOMAS M. HARDIMAN

Prior to assuming judicial duties, Judge Hardiman was a member of the bars of Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the U.S. Tax Court. He also was a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association, where he served on the Professionalism Committee from 1999 - 2003. In 1995, Judge Hardiman was appointed to serve as a Hearing Officer for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Upon conclusion of his term in 1999, he then served as an Alternate Hearing Member until 2003. From 1996 until 1998, Judge Hardiman served as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. Presently, Judge Hardiman serves as a Master for the American Inns of Court, Pittsburgh Chapter and as a Fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.

In addition to his professional activities, Judge Hardiman has been actively involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, Inc. He has been a Director since 1995, served as President from 1999 - 2000, and presently chairs the Board Excellence Committee. In 2002 he received the agency's Nancy B. Zappala Service Award, which is presented annually to the person who has made the greatest contribution to the agency.

Judge Hardiman and his wife Lori have three children.

<< Table of Contents >>

MAGISTRATE JUDGES - UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CHIEF MAGISTRATE FRANCIS X. CAIAZZA

Magistrate Judge FRANCIS X. CAIAZZA was born on October 27, 1935, the son of Hugo and Ann Caiazza. He is married to Roselee Morrone and they have three children, Matthew J., Felicia A. Francisco and Christian X. and four grandchildren, Grace, Alex, Peter and Zachary.

He was graduated from New Castle High School in 1954, Duquesne University in 1958 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and he was awarded an LL.B Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1961. He was engaged in the general practice of law in New Castle, Pa. from 1963 until his election to the Court of Common Pleas in 1982. He was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 1, 1994 he was appointed as a Magistrate Judge to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the School of Law, Duquesne University.

He served in the United States Army from 1961 until 1963. Also, he has been active in a number of civic groups such as Lark Workshop for the Handicapped, the Boy Scouts of America and the Lawrence County Labor-Management Committee. He is a member of St. Vitus Parish where he has served on the church committee, as a cantor, as a lector and also as a member of the church choir.

<< Table of Contents >>

ILA JEANNE SENSENICH

Magistrate Judge ILA JEANNE SENSENICH was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 6, 1939. She graduated from Westminster College in 1961 and the Dickinson School of Law in 1964, where she served on the Law Review. She practiced law in Greensburg with her father's law firm of Stewart, Baldwin, Sensenich & Herrington from 1964 to 1970, when she was appointed First Assistant Public Defender of Westmoreland County. She took the oath of office of United States Magistrate on March 15, 1971, when the United States Magistrate system replaced the commissioner system in the district.

She was appointed Visiting Fellow in the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Program in Criminal Justice at Yale Law School, New Haven, Connecticut, for the 1976-1977 academic year and was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Duquesne University School of Law from 1982 to 1987. Since 1975, she has been a member of the faculty of the Federal Judicial Center, Washington, D.C. speaking at training seminars for United States Magistrates. She has addressed seminars in Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Denver; St. Petersburg; Atlanta; Boston; and San Francisco.

She is the author of a Compendium of the Law on Prisoners' Rights which was published by the Federal Judicial Center in 1979 and a supplement which was published in 1981.

In 1974, she was selected by Chief Justice Burger as one of three U.S. magistrates in the country to travel to London, England to study the English Master System. In November 1987 she was one of three magistrates in the country appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist to the Magistrates Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

She is a member emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the Dickinson School of Law and former president of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. She is a member of the Allegheny County, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and American Bar Associations, the American Judicature Society, the National Association of Women Judges, and the Women's Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania.

She was awarded on honorary J.D. degree by Dickinson School of Law in 1994.

<< Table of Contents >>

ROBERT C. MITCHELL

Magistrate Judge ROBERT C. MITCHELL was born in New York City on August 4, 1940. He graduated with an A.B. Degree from Dartmouth College in 1962, and received an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964 and a J.D. Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967.

He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Louis Rosenberg from 1968 through 1972, was appointed as a United States Magistrate in 1972, and reappointed in 1980, 1988, and 1996. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Judicature Society, the Allegheny County Bar Association and the National Council of United States Magistrates.

He is married to Leslie T. Mitchell and the father of a son, Barrett, and a daughter, Allison.

<< Table of Contents >>

SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER

Magistrate Judge SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on September 20, 1956. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 1978, her Master of Education Degree from Temple University in 1980, and her Juris Doctor Degree from Temple University School of Law in 1983. She taught music in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District for four years prior to receiving her law degree. She began the practice of law in Washington, D.C., at the firm of Cole, Raywid and Braverman where she was made a partner in 1989. Her practice consisted of commercial litigation, antitrust litigation and contracts. After returning to Pennsylvania in 1992, she served as the Court Solicitor for the Erie County Court of Common Pleas. She took the oath of the office of United States Magistrate Judge on January 20, 1995.

In 1996, she was elected the Director-At-Large of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. As a member of the executive board, she regularly attended the Advisory Committee meetings in Washington, D.C., of the Administrative Office of the Courts pertaining to magistrate judges. She served in this capacity for five years. She has also addressed her colleagues at educational seminars around the country. In 1998, then-Governor Ridge appointed her to the new Pennsylvania Commission for Women, where she served for three years. She serves as a member of the Erie County Bar Association's Board of Directors, and as a Master in the Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Inns of Court.

She is married to Donald L. Baxter, Jr., M.D., and has two children.  She is a member of the Erie County Bar Association.

<< Table of Contents >>

KEITH A. PESTO

Magistrate Judge KEITH A. PESTO was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1960. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in May, 1980 with a B.A. in economics and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in May, 1983.

After private practice in Philadelphia in 1984, he clerked for Judge D. Brooks Smith, then of the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, in 1985 and 1986. He practiced privately again in 1986 and was a member of the District Attorney's Office in Blair County from 1986 through 1988. He again clerked for Judge D. Brooks Smith of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1988 to 1994.

He was appointed magistrate judge on March 1, 1994.