Anthony Joseph Scirica (born December 16, 1940) is a Senior United States circuit judge 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 ...

Education and career

Scirica was born on December 16, 1940, in

Norristown Norristown may mean: * Norristown, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home ...

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, ...

. He 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 year ...

degree from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

in 1962. He received a Juris Doctor from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

in 1965. He was a Fulbright scholar at

Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in ...

in Caracas,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in 1966. He was in private practice of law in Norristown from 1966 to 1980. He was an assistant district attorney of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, from 1967 to 1969. He was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Pennsylvania State Representative The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1971 to 1979. He was a Judge on the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, Montgomery County from 1980 to 1984.

Federal judicial service

Scirica was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on June 19, 1984, to a seat on the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Phil ...

vacated by Judge John Berne Hannum. 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 September 17, 1984, and received commission on September 18, 1984. His service was terminated on September 11, 1987, due to elevation to the Third Circuit. Scirica was nominated by President Reagan on June 26, 1987, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 1987, and received commission on August 6, 1987. He served as Chief Judge from 2003 to 2010. 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 July 1, 2013.

Notable activities

In 1994, Scirica was elected to the American Law Institute and was elected to the ALI Council in May 2011. In 2008, Chief Justice

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...

named Scirica to be chairman of the executive committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. In 2011, Scirica was elected to the Council of the American Law Institute. He currently chairs an ALI Regional Advisory Group, coordinating the efforts to identify and nominate new members. Scirica joined the faculty of the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...

in July 2013 as a Senior Fellow. Scirica is a member of the Knight Foundation's Philadelphia Community Advisory Committee.

Notable cases

Scirica wrote a

dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

in the ''

Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC ''Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC'', was a series of cases heard and adjudicated by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2010. A civilian activist group, Prometheus Radio Project, challenged new media ownership rules put forth by ...

'' case. He authored the unanimous opinion in the ''Winer Family Trust v. Queen'' private securities fraud class action. He authored '' In re Resorts Int'l,Inc.'' a seminal decision regarding the scope of bankruptcy subject matter jurisdiction after a company that was in chapter 11 emerges from bankruptcy. Scirica wrote the opinion for the unanimous Third Circuit panel affirming, for the most part, the convictions of Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly for their roles in the closure of Fort Lee access lanes to the George Washington Bridge for political reasons, in what came to be known as the Bridgegate scandal. The decision was reversed by a unanimous Supreme Court on appeal. His former law clerks include

Gregory G. Garre Gregory G. Garre (born November 1, 1964) is an American lawyer who served as the 44th United States Solicitor General from June 19, 2008, to January 16, 2009. He is currently a partner at Latham & Watkins, a private law firm. Life and education ...

, a former-United States Solicitor General, and Magistrate Judge Timothy R. Rice.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scirica, Anthony Joseph 1940 births 20th-century American judges American lawyers and judges of Italian descent Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas 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 Living people Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan University of Michigan Law School alumni University of Pennsylvania fellows Wesleyan University alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School faculty