Robert F. Kelly (born June 17, 1935) is a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
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
.
Education and career
Kelly was born in
Rosemont, Pennsylvania
Rosemont is a neighborhood and census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States. Partly in Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County and partly in Radnor Township in Delaware County, it is on the Philadelphia Main Line. It is best kno ...
. He received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
in 1957 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
Temple University School of Law
The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Temple University, a public university, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls ...
in 1960. He was in private practice in
Media, Pennsylvania
Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
...
from 1961 to 1962. He was in private practice in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...
from 1962 to 1964. He was in private practice in Media from 1964 to 1976. He was a clerk for Judge Francis J. Catania of the
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas
A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
from 1964 to 1972. He was the prothonotary of Delaware County from 1972 to 1976. He was the chairman of the Delaware County Republican Executive Committee from 1972 to 1985. He was a judge on the court of common pleas of the 32nd Judicial District of Pennsylvania from 1976 to 1987.
In July 1982, Kelly presided over the rape-murder trial of
Nick Yarris
Nicholas James Yarris (born May 18, 1961) is an American writer and storyteller who spent 22 years on death row in Pennsylvania after being wrongfully convicted of rape and murder.
Prosecution, conviction, and exoneration
Although disputed by so ...
, resulting in the defendant's wrongful conviction and death sentence, which was not overturned until 2003.
Federal judicial service
Kelly was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
on May 1, 1987, to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Donald West VanArtsdalen. He 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 June 25, 1987, and received his commission on June 26, 1987. He assumed
senior status on July 17, 2001.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Robert F.
1935 births
Living people
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
Villanova University alumni
Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni
21st-century American judges