Donald Emil Ziegler (October 1, 1936 – September 21, 2019) was a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Education and career

Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in 1936, Ziegler received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from Duquesne University in 1958, and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from Georgetown University Law Center in 1961, where he was a member of the Law Review. He was in private practice in Pittsburgh from 1962 to 1974. He served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas,

Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...

, Pennsylvania, from 1974 to 1978.

Federal judicial service

On March 22, 1978, Ziegler was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge Rabe Ferguson Marsh Jr. Ziegler was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on May 1, 1978, and received his commission the following day. He served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 2001. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2001, serving in that capacity until his retirement from the bench on May 31, 2003. Ziegler served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States for three years, and the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit for seven years. Along with being an outstanding Judge, Judge Ziegler was a great, kind, considerate and thoughtful mentor and professor to law students and new lawyers. He took his profession and position seriously but was compassionate to the human condition.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziegler, Donald Emil 1936 births 2019 deaths Duquesne University alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Lawyers from Pittsburgh United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges