Thomas Hardiman

Early life and education

Hardiman was born in 1965 in Winchester, Massachusetts, and was raised in Waltham. His father, Robert, owned and operated a taxicab and school transportation business and his mother, Judith, was a homemaker and bookkeeper for the family business.

As a teenager, Hardiman began working part-time as a taxi driver, which he continued to do throughout high school and college. In 1983, he graduated from Waltham High School.

He was the first person in his family to graduate from college, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame on an academic scholarship and graduating with honors in 1987. He then studied law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal and a member of the moot court team, while working at law firms during the summers and academic terms to help pay his tuition. He received a Juris Doctor with honors in 1990.

Career prior to the bench

After graduation, Hardiman joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he was an associate in the litigation department from 1989–1992. From 1992–1999, he practiced with the Pittsburgh law firm of Titus & McConomy, first as an associate, and then from 1996–1999 as a partner. From 1999–2003, he was a partner in the litigation department at law firm of Reed Smith, also in Pittsburgh. His practice consisted mainly of civil and white-collar criminal litigation.

Federal bench nominations and confirmations

Hardiman was appointed by President George W. Bush to be a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was nominated to that position on April 9, 2003, and confirmed by voice vote on October 22, 2003. He received his commission on October 27, 2003 and took the bench on November 1, 2003.

Hardiman was subsequently nominated to the Third Circuit by President Bush on January 9, 2007, to fill a seat vacated by Judge Richard Lowell Nygaard (who had assumed senior status in 2005). Hardiman was confirmed to that seat by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 95–0 on March 15, 2007. He received his commission on April 2, 2007. He was the seventh judge appointed to the Third Circuit by Bush.

Police and prison powers

In Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders (2010), Hardiman held that a jail policy of strip-searching everyone who is arrested does not violate the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court affirmed this decision in 2012.

In Barkes v. First Correctional Medical, Inc. (2014), Hardiman dissented from a ruling that two Delaware prison officials could be sued for failing to provide adequate suicide prevention protocols after a mentally ill inmate committed suicide. The Supreme Court agreed and unanimously reversed in Taylor v. Barkes.

Criminal sentencing

In United States v. Abbott (2009), Hardiman held that a defendant's mandatory minimum sentence is not affected by the imposition of another mandatory minimum for a different offense. The Supreme Court affirmed in 2010.

In United States v. Fisher (2007), Hardiman ruled that a judge could find facts to enhance a criminal sentence according to the preponderance of the evidence standard of proof.

Religious freedom

In Busch v. Marple Newton School District (2008), Hardiman wrote an opinion in favor of parents who described themselves as Evangelical Christians and were barred from reading from the Bible during a kindergarten "show and tell" presentation. Hardiman wrote that "the school went too far in this case in limiting participation in ‘All About Me’ week to nonreligious perspectives," which "plainly constituted" discrimination. Hardiman wrote that "the majority's desire to protect young children from potentially influential speech in the classroom is understandable," but that students cannot be barred from expressing "what is most important" about themselves.

Gun rights

In United States vs. Barton (2011), Hardiman rejected a challenge to the federal law that bans felons from owning firearms. However, in Binderup v. Attorney General (2016), he held that such a prohibition could cover only dangerous persons who are likely to use firearms for illicit purposes. He wrote "the most cogent principle that can be drawn from traditional limitations on the right to keep and bear arms is that dangerous persons likely to use firearms for illicit purposes were not understood to be protected by the Second Amendment."

In the 2013 case Drake v. Filko, Hardiman disagreed with the New Jersey requirement that gun owners must show a "justifiable need" to own a gun. Hardiman cited the case District of Columbia v. Heller, writing that based on the Heller ruling, the Second Amendment "protects an inherent right to self-defense."

Free speech

In the 2006 case United States v. Stevens, Hardiman voted to strike down a federal law that criminalized videos depicting animal cruelty.

In the 2010 case Kelly v. Borough of Carlisle, Hardiman ruled that a police officer had qualified immunity because there is no clearly established First Amendment right to videotape police officers during traffic stops.

In the 2013 case B.H. ex rel. Hawk v. Easton Area School District, Hardiman dissented from the court's holding that a public school violated the First Amendment by banning middle-school students from wearing bracelets inscribed "I [love] boobies!" that were sold by a breast cancer awareness group.

In the 2014 case Lodge No. 5 of Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Philadelphia, Hardiman struck down a city charter provision barring police officers from donating to their union's political action committee, under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Immigration

In the 2010 case Valdiviezo-Galdamez v. Attorney General, Hardiman ruled in favor of a man from Honduras who was seeking asylum in the United States to avoid being recruited into a violent gang.

In the 2015 case Di Li Li v. Attorney General, Hardiman opined that the Board of Immigration Appeals must reopen a case when an asylum seeker from China converted to Christianity and argued that "conditions have worsened over time" for Christians in China.

Commerce

In the 2011 case United States v. Pendleton, a man who sexually molested a 15-year-old boy in Germany was convicted and sentenced in Delaware under the PROTECT Act of 2003. The defendant argued that the PROTECT Act was unconstitutional based on the Foreign Commerce Clause. Hardiman ruled that the PROTECT Act was valid because of an "express connection" to the channels of foreign commerce.

Affiliations and recognition

Before becoming a judge, Hardiman was a member of the bars of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia. Since 2013, Hardiman has served as chair of the Committee on Information Technology of the Judicial Conference of the United States. As of January 2017, he was a member of the American Law Institute, a master of the Edward M. Sell University of Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Inns of Court, and a fellow in the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.

In 2010 Hardiman received the Georgetown University Law Center's Paul R. Dean Award recognizing distinguished alumni.

Personal life

Hardiman married Lori Hardiman (née Zappala), an attorney and real estate professional, in 1992. The Zappala family, which includes Stephen Zappala and Stephen Zappala Sr., are prominent Democrats. Hardiman is the father of three children.

As a student, Hardiman participated in an exchange program in Mexico, and he later volunteered with the Ayuda immigration legal aid office in Washington, D.C., representing immigrants.

Hardiman is a board member and former president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh.