Preceded by Seat established | Name Thomas Vanaskie Role Judge | |
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Education Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law, Lycoming College | ||
Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie's Academic All-America Hall of Fame Video
Thomas Ignatius Vanaskie (born 1953) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. From February 10, 1994 to April 26, 2010, he served as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He was confirmed to the Circuit Court of Appeals on April 21, 2010, and was commissioned April 26.
Contents
- Judge Thomas I Vanaskies Academic All America Hall of Fame Video
- Early life and education and professional career
- District Court service
- Court of appeals service
- References
Early life and education, and professional career
Born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, Vanaskie received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College in 1975 and earned a Juris Doctor from Dickinson School of Law in 1978. He was a law clerk for United States District Judge William Joseph Nealon Jr. on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 1978 to 1980. Vanaskie worked in private legal practice in Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 1980 to 1994.
District Court service
On November 17, 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Vanaskie to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania that was created by 104 Stat. 5089. Vanaskie was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 10, 1994, and received his commission on February 11, 1994. Vanaskie served as chief judge from 1999 to 2006. His service terminated on April 28, 2010, due to elevation to the Third Circuit.
Court of appeals service
On August 6, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Vanaskie to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that was created when Judge Franklin Stuart Van Antwerpen took senior status in 2006. On November 5, 2009, Vanaskie's nomination was considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was reported to the full Senate by the committee on December 3, 2009. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on Vanaskie's nomination on April 15, 2010. Vanaskie was confirmed, with a vote of 77-20, by the full Senate on April 21, 2010.