William S. Stickman IV

William Shaw Stickman IV (born 1979) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

William S. Stickman IV
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Incumbent
Assumed office August 5, 2019
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Joy Flowers Conti
Personal details
Born	1979 (age 41–42) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Duquesne University (B.A.) Duquesne University School of Law (J.D.)

Education

Stickman earned his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, and his Juris Doctor from Duquesne University. He was a member of the Duquesne Law Review during law school.[1]

Legal career

Early in his career, Stickman served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Ralph Cappy of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was a partner with Del Sole Cavanaugh Stroyd LLC, where his practice focused on commercial litigation and appellate matters. From 2011 to 2017, he served on the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee.[1]

Federal judicial service

On May 3, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Stickman to serve as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. On May 13, 2019, President Trump nominated Stickman to the seat vacated by Judge Joy Flowers Conti, who took senior status on December 6, 2018.[2] On June 5, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[3] On June 27, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[4] On July 30, 2019, the Senate voted 57–31 to invoke cloture on his nomination.[5] On July 31, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 56–34.[6] He received his judicial commission on August 5, 2019.

On September 14, 2020, Stickman ruled that the stay at home order issued by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf amidst the coronavirus pandemic was unconstitutional, violating the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment.[7][8] The Wolf administration filed an appeal for a stay of the ruling.[9][10][11] On October 1, 2020, Stickman's ruling was stayed by the Third Circuit, pending appeal.[12]

References

1. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees, United States Attorney Nominee, and United States Marshal Nominees" White House, May 3, 2019 Archived May 3, 2019, at the Wayback Machine This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. ""Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, May 13, 2019". Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
3. "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for June 5, 2019". Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
4. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – June 27, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
5. On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: William Shaw Stickman IV to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania), United States Senate, July 30, 2019
6. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: William Shaw Stickman IV, of Pennsylvania, to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania), United States Senate, July 31, 2019". Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
7. Reed Ward, Paula (September 14, 2020). "Federal judge rules Gov. Wolf's shutdown orders were unconstitutional | TribLIVE.com". triblive.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
8. Coleman, Justine (14 September 2020). "Federal judge rules Pennsylvania's coronavirus orders are unconstitutional". TheHill. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
9. "Federal Judge Rules Pa.'s Shutdown Order Unconstitutional; Wolf Administration Will File Appeal". Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
10. Harris, Jon (September 14, 2020). "Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf to seek stay, file an appeal of court decision that shoots down public gathering restrictions". mcall.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
11. Routh, Julian (September 17, 2020). "Gov. Wolf seeks stay on federal crowd-size ruling, arguing virus deaths will climb". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
12. "#100 in COUNTY OF BUTLER v. THOMAS W. WOLF (W.D. Pa., 2:20-cv-00677) – CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2020-10-01.

External links

• William S. Stickman IV at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.