William S. Stickman IV

William S. Stickman IV
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 5, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byJoy Flowers Conti
Personal details
Born
William Shaw Stickman IV

1979 (age 44–45)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationDuquesne University (BA, JD)

William Shaw Stickman IV (born 1979) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Education

Stickman earned his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in 2002 and his Juris Doctor in 2005 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Duquesne Law Review during law school.[1]

From 2006 to 2007, Stickman served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Ralph Cappy of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was then hired as an associate with Del Sole Cavanaugh Stroyd LLC in 2007 and became a partner in 2013, where his practice focused on commercial litigation, appellate matters, and personal injury law. From 2011 to 2017, he served on the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee.[1]

Federal judicial service

On May 3, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Stickman to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. On May 13, 2019, President Trump nominated Stickman to the seat vacated by Judge Joy Flowers Conti, who assumed senior status on December 6, 2018.[2] On June 5, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[3] On June 27, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[4] On July 30, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 57–31 vote.[5] On July 31, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 56–34 vote.[6] He received his judicial commission on August 5, 2019.[7]

Notable ruling

On September 14, 2020, Stickman ruled that the stay at home order issued by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf amidst the coronavirus pandemic was unconstitutional, violating the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment.[8][9] The Wolf administration filed an appeal for a stay of the ruling.[10][11][12] On October 1, 2020, Stickman's ruling was stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, pending appeal.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees, United States Attorney Nominee, and United States Marshal Nominees" White House, May 3, 2019 Archived January 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ ""Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, May 13, 2019". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for June 5, 2019". Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 27, 2019" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: William Shaw Stickman IV to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania)". United States Senate. July 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: William Shaw Stickman IV, of Pennsylvania, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania)". United States Senate. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  7. ^ William S. Stickman IV at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  8. ^ Reed Ward, Paula (September 14, 2020). "Federal judge rules Gov. Wolf's shutdown orders were unconstitutional | TribLIVE.com". triblive.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  9. ^ Coleman, Justine (14 September 2020). "Federal judge rules Pennsylvania's coronavirus orders are unconstitutional". The Hill. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Federal Judge Rules Pa.'s Shutdown Order Unconstitutional; Wolf Administration Will File Appeal". 14 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  11. ^ Harris, Jon (September 14, 2020). "Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf to seek stay, file an appeal of court decision that shoots down public gathering restrictions". mcall.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  12. ^ Routh, Julian (September 17, 2020). "Gov. Wolf seeks stay on federal crowd-size ruling, arguing virus deaths will climb". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  13. ^ "#100 in COUNTY OF BUTLER v. THOMAS W. WOLF (W.D. Pa., 2:20-cv-00677) – CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
2019–present 		Incumbent