Paul S. Diamond

Paul Steven Diamond (born January 2, 1953) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a former federal judicial nominee to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was appointed a federal judge by George W. Bush in 2004.

Paul S. Diamond
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Incumbent
Assumed office June 22, 2004
Appointed by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Herbert J. Hutton
Personal details
Born	Paul Steven Diamond January 2, 1953[1] Brooklyn, New York
Education	Columbia University (BA) University of Pennsylvania Law School (JD)

Education

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Diamond received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1974 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1977.[1]

Career

Diamond was an assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office from 1977–1979. In 1980 he served as a law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Bruce W. Kauffman, who would later also be appointed as a judge on the Eastern District by President Bill Clinton). Diamond returned to the District Attorney's Office from 1981 to 1983. He worked in private practice in Philadelphia from 1983 to 2004, when he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Eastern District. Diamond also has worked as an adjunct professor of law at Temple University Beasley School of Law from 1990–1992.[2] From 1993 until 1995, Diamond worked as the treasurer and as the counsel for the failed 1996 presidential campaign of United States Senator Arlen Specter.[3]

District court service

On January 20, 2004, President George W. Bush nominated Diamond to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Herbert J. Hutton. Diamond was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 16, 2004 by a vote of 97-0, and received his commission on June 22, 2004.

Third Circuit nomination under Bush

On July 2, 2008, the Legal Intelligencer reported that as part of a package of judicial nominees, President Bush had agreed to withdraw his then nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Gene E. K. Pratter and replace her with Diamond.[3] On July 24, 2008, President Bush formally nominated Diamond to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in conjunction with Pratter's withdrawal.[4] Since Diamond was nominated after July 1, 2008, the unofficial start date of the Thurmond Rule during a presidential election year, no hearings were scheduled on his nomination, and the nomination was returned to Bush at the end of his term.

Presidential election cases

In 2016, Judge Diamond rejected Jill Stein's request for a recount of Donald Trump's victory in Pennsylvania.[5]

During the 2020 presidential election, Judge Diamond heard arguments from the Trump campaign who were seeking to stop Philadelphia's election board from counting remaining ballots. He advised the two parties to reach an agreement and he then dismissed the case without prejudice.[6]

References

1. United States Congress Senate Committee on the Judiciary (2004). Confirmation Hearing on Federal Appointments: Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-16-074117-3. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
2. "Bush Nominates Judge for 3rd US Appeals Court". Archived from the original on October 17, 2008.
3. Duffy, Shannon P. (July 2, 2008). "Sources: Senators Agree on New Federal Judges Package". The Legal Intelligencer. Law.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2008.
4. Duffy, Shannon P. (July 25, 2008). "Five Tapped for Federal Bench Openings in Pennsylvania". The Legal Intelligencer. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
5. Bradner, Eric (December 12, 2016). "Wisconsin, Pennsylvania certify Trump wins, ends Stein's recount push". CNN.
6. Briggs, Ryan (November 5, 2020). "Federal judge dismisses Trump's attempt to stop vote counting in Philadelphia". WHYY. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.

Sources

• Paul S. Diamond at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.