Anthony Scirica

Anthony Scirica
Name	Anthony Scirica
Office	Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Term start	December 31, 2013
Office1	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Term start1	October 17, 1989
Term end1	December 31, 2013
Appointer1	George H. W. Bush
Predecessor1	Ruggero J. Aldisert
Successor1	Thomas L. Ambro
Birth date	March 21, 1936
Birth place	Haverford, Pennsylvania
Education	Villanova University (AB, JD)

Anthony Scirica

Anthony Scirica is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit who served as chief judge and chaired important committees influencing federal appellate administration. He has been involved in high‑profile matters touching on corporate governance, securities litigation, and administrative law, and has participated in judicial panels and commissions alongside figures from United States Department of Justice, American Bar Association, and the Federal Judicial Center.

Early life and education

Scirica was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania and raised in a milieu connected to regional institutions such as Villanova University and local legal practices shaped by figures associated with Pennsylvania Supreme Court and county courts. He earned an Artium Baccalaureus and a Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law, studying under professors whose networks included alumni at Pennsylvania Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, and law firms linked to litigation in Philadelphia. During his student years he engaged with moot court competitions paralleling programs hosted by American Bar Association and clerked or observed proceedings in venues influenced by judges from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Legal career and private practice

After graduation Scirica entered private practice in Philadelphia, joining firms that represented clients in matters before the Third Circuit and state appellate tribunals like the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. His practice involved civil litigation, appellate advocacy, and transactional disputes touching on industries represented by counsel from DuPont, Sunoco, and regional banking institutions connected to Wilmington Trust. He also served in public legal roles interacting with elected officials in Pennsylvania General Assembly and county offices, working on cases that brought him into contact with litigators from firms with ties to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart and other national firms appearing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Federal judicial service

Nominated by George H. W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and confirmed in 1989, Scirica succeeded Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert and joined a panel including judges who previously clerked for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States such as Justice Lewis Powell and Justice William Rehnquist. As a circuit judge he served as Chief Judge of the Third Circuit and participated in en banc proceedings alongside jurists with backgrounds in the Department of Justice and academia at Yale Law School and Harvard Law School. He took senior status in 2013, after which he continued to sit on panels with judges appointed by presidents including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, and contributed to decisions addressing matters appealed from district courts such as the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Notable opinions and judicial philosophy

Scirica authored opinions in significant securities and corporate governance cases that were cited in filings before the Securities and Exchange Commission and in commentary by scholars at Columbia Law School and University of Pennsylvania Law School. His opinions often balanced precedent from the Supreme Court of the United States—including decisions by Justices like Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer—with principles derived from Third Circuit precedent authored by judges such as A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. and Samuel Alito. He wrote on topics ranging from antitrust implications for firms like AT&T and ExxonMobil to administrative law questions implicating agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor, reflecting a pragmatic approach that appellate commentators in publications like the Harvard Law Review and Yale Journal on Regulation have analyzed.

Academic and professional activities

Beyond the bench, Scirica lectured at institutions including Villanova University School of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law, and guest forums associated with the Federal Judicial Center and the American Law Institute. He has participated in panels with academics from University of Chicago Law School and Stanford Law School and served on committees of the Judicial Conference of the United States addressing rules promulgated by the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. His involvement extended to symposia hosted by the Brookings Institution and the Federalist Society where judges, practitioners, and scholars debated appellate procedure, judicial administration, and the role of precedential decisions.

Personal life and honors

Scirica has been recognized by legal organizations such as the American Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association and received awards from institutions linked to Villanova University and regional bar foundations. He has maintained ties to civic and cultural institutions in Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and his career has been profiled in outlets that cover the federal judiciary alongside profiles of jurists like Martha Pacold and Cheryl Ann Krause. He is married and his family has participated in community activities connected to local parishes and charitable organizations affiliated with entities like Catholic Charities USA and regional foundations.

Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Category:Villanova University alumni Category:1936 births Category:Living people