Joseph James Farnan Jr. (born June 15, 1945) is a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the United States district court, Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington, Delaware, ...

Education and career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Farnan received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from King's College in 1967 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1970. He was a Director of the Criminal Justice Program at Wilmington College in New Castle,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

from 1970 to 1972. He was an assistant public defender for the State of Delaware from 1972 to 1975, and was also in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware from 1972 to 1976. He was county attorney of New Castle County, Delaware from 1976 to 1979, and was chief deputy attorney general of the state of Delaware from 1979 to 1981. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Delaware from 1981 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

On June 21, 1985, Farnan was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to a new seat on the

created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on July 16, 1985, and received his commission on July 18, 1985. He served as Chief Judge from 1996 to 2000. He retired on July 31, 2010, having become the longest-serving member of the federal bench in Delaware.

Post judicial service

Since his retirement from the bench, Farnan has served as an attorney in private practice at the law firm of Farnan LLP.

References

External links

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Joseph Farnan's law practice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnan, Joseph James Jr. 1945 births Living people Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware King's College (Pennsylvania) alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia Public defenders United States attorneys for the District of Delaware United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan University of Toledo College of Law alumni Wilmington University faculty