Joseph Francis Leeson Jr. (born April 15, 1955) is a

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 Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Early life and education

Leeson was born April 15, 1955, in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

and 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, cum laude, in 1977 from

DeSales University DeSales University (DSU) is a private Catholic university in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. The university offers traditional, online, and hybrid courses and programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Named for St. Francis de Sales, the un ...

in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. He received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1980 from the

Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic ...

Career

Upon graduation from law school, he became a founding partner of the law firm of Leeson, Leeson & Leeson in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. The firm conducted a general civil practice with an emphasis on litigation. Leeson earned certification as a civil trial advocate from the National Board of Trial Advocacy and also served as an arbitrator for the

American Arbitration Association The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is a not-for-profit organization in the field of alternative dispute resolution, providing services to individuals and organizations who wish to resolve conflicts out of court, and one of several arbitr ...

. During his career, he served as a solicitor for several municipalities in Pennsylvania. In 2017 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by DeSales University. Leeson previously held elected public office as a member of the city council in Bethlehem, where he served as vice president and chair of the finance committee. He also was elected as a member of the Northampton County Government Study Commission where he co-authored the Home Rule Charter for Northampton County. He has served as chair of the boards of the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, PBS 39, the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, the Lehigh–Northampton Airport Authority, and the Janet Johnston Housenick and William D. Housenick Memorial Foundation. He formerly served as a member of the board of commissioners of the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.

Federal judicial service

On June 16, 2014, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

nominated Leeson to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to the seat vacated by Judge Eduardo C. Robreno, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on August 31, 2013. On July 24, 2014, a hearing before the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

was held on his nomination. On September 18, 2014, his nomination was reported out of committee by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. On December 3, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a cloture motion on his nomination. On December 4, 2014, 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 ...

invoked cloture on Leeson’s nomination by a 66–26 vote. Later that day, Leeson was confirmed by a 76–16 vote. He received his judicial commission on December 5, 2014.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leeson, Joseph F. Jr. 1955 births Living people 21st-century American judges Columbus School of Law alumni DeSales University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers People from Allentown, Pennsylvania United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama