Edward Roy Becker
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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 Pennsylvania.


Education and career

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Becker received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954, and his Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School in 1957. He had a private law practice in Philadelphia from 1957 to 1970.


Judicial appointments

Becker's career as a federal judge began with his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was nominated by President
Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...
on September 24, 1970 to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294, was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 1970 and received his commission on October 14, 1970. His service terminated on January 22, 1982 due to his elevation to the Third Circuit.
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
nominated Becker on November 16, 1981 to the Third Circuit seat vacated by Max Rosenn. Becker was confirmed by the Senate on December 3, 1981 and received his commission on the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1998 to 2003. He assumed senior status on May 4, 2003.


Judicial style and cases

Becker was known for the case ''Mackensworth v. American Trading Transportation Co.'' a decision that he wrote in verse. He was also known for occasionally inserting humor into judicial rulings. In 1977 Becker was assigned the massive Japanese Electronic Products Antitrust Litigation in which
Zenith Radio Corp. Zenith Electronics, LLC, is an American research and development company that develops ATSC and digital rights management technologies. It is owned by the South Korean company LG Electronics. Zenith was previously an American brand of consumer ...
and National Union Electric (“N.U.E.”) sought billions of dollars in damages against most of the Japanese television manufacturers and two American companies, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Motorola. The case had been pending since 1970 when it was first filed by N.U.E. and had been in the hands of a number of federal court judges. The case had languished and Becker began to work to get this case to trial. In 1981, Becker entered summary judgment for all defendants on the antitrust and antidumping claims and dismissed the lawsuits. Plaintiffs appealed and the appellate court reversed Becker’s rulings in favor of the Japanese manufacturers on the antitrust claims, but affirmed the summary judgment for Sears, Roebuck and Co., Motorola, Inc. and Sony. In March, 1986 the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
affirmed Becker’s ruling in favor of the defendants on Zenith’s antitrust claims. In 2003, Becker authored the decision on ''Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia v. Chester County'', ruling that the display of Ten Commandments outside of a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
of
Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...
did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Becker was known for his humility and humanity; clerks were told to come up with strong arguments against his positions and not merely defer to him. He commuted by train for nearly his entire career, often reading cases along the way. His law clerks accompanied him during afternoon walks to visit his elderly mother in center city, discussing cases along the way and back. He was active in civic affairs, including some involvement in the relocation of the
Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...
.


Family and personal life

Becker spent virtually all of his life in and around the city of Philadelphia. His family has a strong legal tradition; his father was a lawyer, his wife Flora was also a judge, and two of their three children are also lawyers; son Jonathan became a teacher, while son Charles Becker is a lawyer in private practice and daughter Susan has worked for the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. His parents, wife, and friends generally called him Eddie. He was a fan of the Sixers basketball team. He was an expert piano player; a former law clerk of his recruited him to become the pianist for
Chief Justice Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an Associate justice of the Supreme Court of ...
's annual all-court sing-along.


Legacy

The lobby at the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse in Philadelphia is named in Becker's honor. The block of Chestnut Street that runs from Fifth Street to Sixth Street, between the
Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...
and Independence Hall, is marked as Judge Edward R. Becker Way, in recognition of his leadership in the campaign to keep the National Park Service from closing that block to public access in the wake of
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
.


Funeral

Becker died of
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
on May 19, 2006. He was both popular and well-connected; the receiving line at his funeral stretched through the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
and overflowed into the parking lot, and could not be completed in the two hours time allotted. Eulogies were delivered by Senator Arlen Specter, recently confirmed Supreme Court Justice (and former Third Circuit judge)
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
, Third Circuit Court colleagues Chief Judge
Anthony Scirica Anthony Joseph Scirica (born December 16, 1940) is a United States federal judge, Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Education and career Scirica was born on December 16, 1940, in Nor ...
, Judge
Midge Rendell Marjorie "Midge" Rendell ( ''née'' Osterlund; born February 13, 1947) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a former First Lady of Penns ...
, and by
Stephen J. Harmelin Stephen Joseph Harmelin (born May 7, 1939) is an American lawyer who specializes in corporate and transactional law. He is the co-chairman of the Philadelphia based law firm Dilworth Paxson LLP. He also served as the White House Director of Spe ...
, managing director of Dilworth Paxson. U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectu ...
and David Souter, as well as Justice Alito and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended the ceremony.


Citizenship Award

After his death, the Fox Rothschild Center for Law and Society of the
Community College of Philadelphia The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) is a public community college with campuses throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over 1 ...
created the Judge Edward R. Becker Citizenship Award. Recipients have included: * 2007: Senator Arlen Specter, a friend of Judge Becker's from law school days * 2008:
William T. Coleman, Jr. William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (July 7, 1920 – March 31, 2017) was an American attorney and judge. Coleman was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, from March 7, 1975, to January 20, 1977, and the second African American to ser ...
, civil rights attorney and former U.S. Transportation Secretary * 2009: Sister Mary Scullion, advocate for the homeless * 2010:
Marjorie O. Rendell Marjorie "Midge" Rendell ( ''née'' Osterlund; born February 13, 1947) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a former First Lady of Pen ...
, First Lady of Pennsylvania, federal judge and former colleague of Becker's. * 2011: Edward G. Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania. The award ceremony was delayed due to inclement weather. * 2012: Senator
Robert P. Casey, Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as P ...
was supposed to receive the award, but the ceremony was postponed because it was feared that it would be a focus for political demonstrations relating to an ongoing labor dispute at the college. Inclement weather in 2013 postponed the ceremony again, and in 2014, Senator Casey did receive the Award. * 2015: Honorable
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States The award is generally presented by Judge Becker's son, Chip, in the early part of the year, February through April.


Law Clerks

Among his law clerks were: * Newtown Professor of Constitutional Law David B. Cruz,
USC Gould School of Law The USC Gould School of Law, located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated with ...
* former United States Attorney for the
District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...
Paul J. Fishman Paul J. Fishman (born February 26, 1957) is an American lawyer and former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2009 to 2017. Early life and education Fishman was born on February 26, 1957, in New York City to a Jewish famil ...
* Marci A. Hamilton, CEO and Academic Director at CHILD USA, and former professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and at the
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University. Located in New York City and founded in 1976, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. p ...
, Yeshiva University * Judge Toby J. Heytens,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...
. * law professor Aviva Orenstein, professor at
Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The school is named after Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $35 million in 2008 ...
* clinical law professor David M. Shapiro,
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, ...
, former staff attorney for
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
Prison Project * law professor Zephyr Teachout, of
Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
, best known for her work as director of online organizing for the campaign of Howard Dean for the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination and expert on political corruption * law professor Rebecca Tushnet, professor at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
, formerly of Georgetown University Law Center * law professor Michael Vandenbergh, professor at
Vanderbilt Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
, formerly the Chief of Staff at the
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
* Bloomberg business and finance columnist Matt Levine * law professor Katharine Baker, professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law * Judge
Gregory G. Katsas Gregory George Katsas (born August 6, 1964) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Early life and education Katsas was born in 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts; his parents wer ...
,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...
.


See also

* List of Jewish American jurists


References


External links

* *
Edward R. Becker Papers (MS 1929).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Edward R. 1933 births 2006 deaths Lawyers from Philadelphia Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Yale Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania