Arthur J. Schwab
Arthur James Schwab | |
|---|---|
Maurice Blanchard Cohill Jr. | |
| Succeeded by | Robert J. Colville |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arthur James Schwab December 7, 1946 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Education | Grove City College (AB) University of Virginia (JD) |
Arthur James Schwab (born December 7, 1946)[1] is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Early life, education, and career
Born in
He was in private practice in Pennsylvania from 1973 to 2002. He began teaching as an adjunct professor at Grove City College, Pennsylvania, in 2001.
Federal judicial service
On January 23, 2002, Schwab was nominated by President
In 2008, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Schwab had the "lowest ranking among federal judges" by 797 lawyers in the Allegheny County Bar Association.[3]
In 2011, he was accused of bias and recused himself from seventeen ongoing cases.[4]
Tommy Chong case
In 2003, Schwab presided over the case involving Tommy Chong's trial for conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia (bongs), and sentenced him to nine months in federal prison, as well as a hefty financial penalty.[5]
Cyril Wecht case
In 2008, Schwab presided over and was eventually removed from the Cyril Wecht federal trial, a case that caused considerable controversy. The defendant, a prominent Democrat in Pennsylvania, alleged that Judge Schwab was biased and the prosecution was political in nature and sought unsuccessfully to have the judge removed. Among the decisions Judge Schwab made was seeking to keep the names of jurors anonymous, a tactic usually reserved for criminal cases where the jurors may be in danger. This was overturned by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. After Schwab declared the original trial a mistrial, he was criticized for not following proper procedures before declaring a mistrial, such as polling the jury which would have determined if the defendant should be retried on all counts or just one.[6] One month later, he was removed from presiding over the retrial. The Appellate court cited a "combative tenor" in the proceedings and hoped for "reduced level of rancor."[7] On May 14, 2009, the new judge in the case tossed out most of the evidence against Wecht stating it was seized under unconstitutional warrants[8] On June 2, all charges were dropped against Wecht.[9]
West Penn Allegheny Health System v UPMC case
In 2012, Schwab presided over the West Penn Allegheny Health System v University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) case, and in a rare move, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals removed him from case. According to Pittsburgh Post Gazette, "It's rare for a federal judge to get yanked from a case, and twice in four years gets everyone's attention."[10]
Juarez-Escobar Case
On December 16, 2014, Schwab wrote that President Obama's
References
- ^ a b "Judge Schwab" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ^ "Arthur J. Schwab | Western District of Pennsylvania | United States District Court". www.pawd.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
- ^ "Judge in Wecht case gets rock-bottom ranking from lawyers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ "Accused of Bias, Judge Recuses Himself from 17 Ongoing Cases". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ "Tommy Chong gets the joint". post-gazette.com. September 13, 2003.
- ^ Jason Cato (2008-08-05). "Panel criticizes Wecht judge". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- ^ Jason Cato (2008-09-06). "Federal appeals court removes Wecht judge". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- ^ Jason Cato (2009-05-14). "Judge tosses evidence in remaining Wecht corruption charges". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on 2013-01-04.
- ^ Jason Cato (2009-05-14). "Charges against Cyril H. Wecht to be dismissed". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
- ^ Jason Cato (2012-03-30). "Experts: Pulling judge from case is rare; impeachment even rarer". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
- ^ "US judge says Obama immigration action invalid". Washington Post. 2014-12-16. Archived from the original on 2014-12-17.
- ^ "Federal Judge Calls Obama's Immigration Actions Unlawful". New York Times. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
- ^ United States v. Juarez-Escobar, no. 14-0180 (W.D. Penn., Dec. 16, 2014) (memorandum opinion and order). Accessed Dec. 17, 2014.
- ^ "District Court Declares Obama Immigration Action Unconstitutional (Updated)". Washington Post. 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
External links
- Arthur J. Schwab at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.