Donald Emil Ziegler (October 1, 1936 – September 21, 2019) was a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States 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 federa ...

Education and career

Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, in 1936, Ziegler received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

in 1958, and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

in 1961, where he was a member of the Law Review. He was in private practice in Pittsburgh from 1962 to 1974. He served as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas,

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

, Pennsylvania, from 1974 to 1978.

Federal judicial service

On March 22, 1978, Ziegler was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Rabe Ferguson Marsh Jr. Ziegler was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on May 1, 1978, and received his commission the following day. He served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 2001. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2001, serving in that capacity until his retirement from the bench on May 31, 2003. Ziegler served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States for three years, and the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit for seven years. Along with being an outstanding Judge, Judge Ziegler was a great, kind, considerate and thoughtful mentor and professor to law students and new lawyers. He took his profession and position seriously but was compassionate to the human condition.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziegler, Donald Emil 1936 births 2019 deaths Duquesne University alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Lawyers from Pittsburgh United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges