Scirica was nominated by President Reagan on June 26, 1987, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated by Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 1987, and received commission on August 6, 1987. He served as Chief Judge from 2003 to 2010. He assumed senior status on July 1, 2013.[1]
Notable activities
In 1994, Scirica was elected to the American Law Institute and was elected to the ALI Council in May 2011.[2] He chaired an ALI Regional Advisory Group, coordinating the efforts to identify and nominate new members.
Scirica is a member of the Knight Foundation's Philadelphia Community Advisory Committee.[4]
Notable cases
Scirica wrote a dissent in the Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC case. He authored the unanimous opinion in the Winer Family Trust v. Queen private securities fraud class action. He authored In re Resorts Int'l, Inc. a seminal decision regarding the scope of bankruptcy subject matter jurisdiction after a company that was in chapter 11 emerges from bankruptcy.[5] Scirica wrote the opinion for the unanimous Third Circuit panel affirming, for the most part, the convictions of Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly for their roles in the closure of Fort Lee access lanes to the George Washington Bridge for political reasons, in what came to be known as the Bridgegate scandal.[6] The decision was reversed by a unanimous Supreme Court on appeal.[7]
His former law clerks include Gregory G. Garre, a former-United States Solicitor General, Magistrate Judge Timothy R. Rice, and former White House counsel Dana Remus.
