Franklin Stuart Van Antwerpen (October 23, 1941 – July 25, 2016) was a
United States circuit judge
In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* East ...
. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on October 23, 2006, on his 65th birthday, serving in that status until his death.
Early life and education
Born in
Passaic
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
he attended
Newark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Coll ...
, graduating in 1960. Van Antwerpen studied at the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
, receiving a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree. He earned a
Juris Doctor at the
Temple University Beasley School of Law
The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students.
Student body
Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly compe ...
.
Professional career
Van Antwerpen was contracts counsel for the
Hazeltine Corporation
Hazeltine Corporation was a defense electronics company which is now part of BAE Systems Inc.
History 1924–1986
The company was founded in 1924 by investors to exploit the Neutrodyne patent of Dr. Louis Alan Hazeltine. Headquartered in Gre ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
from 1967 to 1970. He was chief counsel for the Northampton County Legal Aid Society in
Easton,
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, ...
from 1970 to 1971. He was in private practice of law in Easton from 1971 to 1979. He was a judge of the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas in Easton from 1979 to 1987.
Federal judicial service
Van Antwerpen was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan on September 11, 1987, to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Alfred Leopold Luongo. He 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 December 8, 1987, and received his commission on December 9, 1987. His service was terminated on June 1, 2004, due to elevation to the court of appeals.
On September 11, 1991, President
George H. W. Bush nominated Van Antwerpen to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* East ...
. However, Van Antwerpen's nomination languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it expired with the end of Bush's presidency. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
chose not to renominate Van Antwerpen to the Third Circuit.
Van Antwerpen was nominated by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on November 21, 2003, to a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* East ...
vacated by Judge
Edward R. Becker
Edward Roy Becker (May 4, 1933 – May 19, 2006) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pen ...
. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 20, 2004 by a 96–0 vote. He received his commission on May 24, 2004.
"It's happened. We did it. And wow!" Van Antwerpen told a local newspaper after his confirmation vote. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on October 23, 2006,
serving in that status until his death on July 25, 2016, in
Palmer Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
See also
*
George H.W. Bush judicial appointment controversies
References
External links
*
U.S. Justice Department Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Antwerpen, Franklin Stuart
1941 births
2016 deaths
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Newark Academy alumni
People from Passaic, New Jersey
Pennsylvania lawyers
Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni
United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush
21st-century American judges
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
University of Maine alumni