David James Porter (born March 8, 1966) is a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * East ...

Early life and education

Porter was born on March 8, 1966, in

Kittanning, Pennsylvania Kittanning ( pronounced ) is a borough in, and the county seat of, Armstrong County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name is derived from ''Kithanink' ...

.Lawyer Central profile
/ref> He earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

from

Grove City College Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-profession ...

in 1988 and his Juris Doctor from the George Mason University School of Law (now Antonin Scalia Law School) in 1992, where he served as a notes editor for the ''

George Mason Law Review The ''George Mason Law Review'' is an independent law review run by students at the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University. Founded in 1976, and partially re-founded after reorganization in 1995, it is the flagship law review of the ...

''.

Legal career

After graduating from law school, Porter served as a law clerk to Judge D. Brooks Smith of the

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, W.D. Pa.) is a federal trial court that sits in Pittsburgh, Erie, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is composed of ten judges as authorized by federal ...

from 1992 to 1994. He then joined the law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, where practiced in the fields of regulatory, constitutional, and commercial litigation. From 1989 to 1992 he was a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...

; he rejoined in 1995 and has since been President of the Pittsburgh chapter. In 2014 David J. Porter's name was discussed to be included to the White House as part of a package of judicial nominees between senators Bob Casey (D) and Pat Toomey (R). This was due to a tradition in Pennsylvania that divides judicial nominations on a 3-1 ratio when the state's two US senators are of the opposite party. This would allow The White House appointing one judge of the opposing party for three of their own party. Progressives in Pennsylvania scrambled to derail the deal because of David Porter's opposition to abortion rights, gay rights and gun control. As a result, his name was removed as part of a deal that would have resulted in him being nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Federal judicial service

On April 10, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

announced his intent to nominate Porter to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the

. Senator

Bob Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Penn ...

indicated his opposition to Porter's nomination, while Senator

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

voiced his support. On April 12, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge D. Michael Fisher, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on February 1, 2017. On June 6, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. On July 19, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. On October 11, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by a 50–45 vote. He received his judicial commission on October 15, 2018.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, David J. 1966 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Antonin Scalia Law School alumni Federalist Society members Grove City College alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Lawyers from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania Republicans People from Kittanning, Pennsylvania United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump