Thomas Vanaskie
Thomas Ignatius Vanaskie was a judge on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. He joined the court in 2010, assumedsenior status in 2018, and retired in 2019.
Prior to joining theThird Circuit, Vanaskie was a judge on theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2010.[1]
Early life and education
A native of Shamokin,Pennsylvania, Vanaskie graduated from Lycoming College with his bachelor's degree in 1975 and from Dickinson School of Law with hisJ.D. in 1978.[1]
Professional career
- 2010-2018: Judge,United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
- 2018-2019: Judge onsenior status
- 1994-2010: Judge,United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- 1999-2006: Chief judge
- 1980-1994: Private practice,Scranton, Pa.
- 1978-1980: Law clerk, Hon.William Nealon,United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.[1]
Judicial career
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Thomas I. Vanaskie |
| Court:United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 258 days after nomination. |
 ANominated: August 6, 2009 |
| AABA Rating:Unanimously Well Qualified |
| Questionnaire:Questionnaire |
| AHearing: November 4, 2009 |
| QFRs:QFRs(Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| AReported: December 3, 2009 |
| AConfirmed: April 21, 2010 |
| AVote: 77-20 |
Vanaskie was nominated to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit by PresidentBarack Obama (D) on August 6, 2009, to a seat vacated by JudgeFranklin Van Antwerpen. TheAmerican Bar Association rated VanaskieUnanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Vanaskie's nomination were held before theUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on November 4, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen.Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on December 3. Vanaskie was confirmed on a recorded 77-20 vote of theU.S. Senate on April 21, 2010, and he received his commission on April 26. Vanaskie assumedsenior status, on November 30, 2018. He retired January 2, 2019.[1][3]
Middle District of Pennsylvania
Vanaskie was nominated to theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by PresidentBill Clinton (D) on November 17, 1993, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089.[1] TheAmerican Bar Association rated VanaskieSubstantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.[4] Hearings on Vanaskie's nomination were held before theSenate Judiciary Committee on January 27, 1994, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen.Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on February 9. Vanaskie was confirmed on a voice vote of theUnited States Senate on February 10, and he received his commission February 11. Vanaskie served as thechief judge of the court from 1999 to 2006. He resigned from the district court on April 28, 2010, upon his elevation to theThird Circuit Court of Appeals.[1][5] He was succeeded in this position by JudgeMatthew Brann.
Noteworthy cases
Computer hacker's conviction and sentence vacated for lack of proper venue (2014)
- See also:United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit (U.S. v. Auernheimer, 13-1816)
- See also:United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit (U.S. v. Auernheimer, 13-1816)
On April 11, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit, composed of Judges Vanaskie,Joseph Greenaway, andMichael Chagares, vacated a hacker's conviction and prison sentence on charges relating to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).[6]
In the underlying case, in June 2010, Andrew “weev” Auernheimer and co-conspirator Daniel Spiller discovered a security flaw on AT&T's network server that allowed them to obtain the email addresses of 114,000 iPad users. Auernheimer emailed the details of their find to several media outlets and shared the full list of emails generated with a writer from Gawker, a news and gossip website. While Auernheimer resided in Arkansas and the servers affected were located in Texas and Georgia, he was prosecuted in New Jersey federal court, which Auernheimer argued was an improper venue under the circumstances. TheDistrict of New Jersey rationalized this course of action by saying the email addresses of 4,500 New Jersey residents appeared on Auernheimer's list.[6]
In 2012, a jury convicted Auernheimer of identity fraud and conspiracy to access a computer without authorization. In March 2013, JudgeSusan Wigenton sentenced him to forty-one months in prison. On appeal to the Third Circuit, the three-judge panel found that Auernheimer's conviction must be vacated because of improper venue. Writing for the court in a precedential decision, Judge Chagares noted that New Jersey was "not the site of either essential conduct element" of the CFAA—Auernheimer neither accessed nor obtained the unauthorized information in the state at any time.[6] Chagares continued, writing:
| “ | [E]ven assuming that defective venue could be amenable to harmless error review, the venue error here clearly affected Auernheimer’s substantial rights. ... The venue error in this case is not harmless because there was no evidence that any of the essential conduct elements occurred in New Jersey. If Auernheimer’s jury had been properly instructed on venue, it could not have returned a guilty verdict; the verdict rendered in this trial would have been different.[6][7] | ” |
Auernheimer was released after having spent thirteen months in prison.[6]
Carl Lewis and NJ Senator candidate residency requirements (2011)
Judge Vanaskie was a member of a special panel of judges, along with judgesAnthony Scirica andThomas Ambro, that determined whether or not Olympic runner andNew Jersey Senate candidate Carl Lewis would be allowed to remain on the ballot after being removed byLieutenant GovernorKim Guadagno over a residency dispute. Guadagno removed Lewis from the ballot saying he failed to satisfy the four-year residency requirement.[8] Initially, a decision in Lewis's favor was made, and the court ordered his name be put back on the ballot. Judge Scirica dissented from that decision. The defendants appealed, and ultimately Judged Vanaskie, Scirica, Ambro ruled that Lewis's name may be left off the ballot because he did not show that the state officials had treated him unequally with regards to the residency requirement.[9]
See also
- United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
External links
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.11.21.31.41.5Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 111th Congress," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑United States Congress, "PN 909 — Thomas I. Vanaskie — The Judiciary," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 103rd Congress," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑United States Congress, "PN 880 — Thomas I. Vanaskie — The Judiciary," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑6.06.16.26.36.4RT, "AT&T hacker ‘weev’ to walk free after appeals court agrees to vacate conviction," April 11, 2014
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑New York Times, "Carl Lewis Is Put Back on Ballot," September 14, 2011
- ↑Reuters, "Olympian Carl Lewis quits state senate race in New Jersey," September 23, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Franklin Van Antwerpen | Third Circuit Court of Appeals 2010–2018 | Succeeded by: Peter Phipps |
| Preceded by: NA - New Seat 104 Stat. 5089 | Middle District of Pennsylvania 1994–2010 | Succeeded by: Matthew Brann |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges | Chief Judge: Matthew Brann • Karoline Mehalchick • Julia Munley • Joseph Saporito • Jennifer Philpott Wilson • Keli Neary | ||
| Senior judges | |||
| Magistrate judges | Martin C. Carlson • Susan E. Schwab • | ||
| Former Article III judges | Thomas Vanaskie • Richard Caputo • James Munley • Christopher Conner • John E. Jones • William Nealon • Richard Conaboy • Sylvia Rambo • William Caldwell • Edwin Kosik • James McClure • Robert Wodrow Archbald • Charles Witmer • Albert Williams Johnson • Albert Leisenring Watson • Frederick Follmer • Robert Herman • John William Murphy • Michael Sheridan • | ||
| Former Chief judges | Thomas Vanaskie • William Nealon • Richard Conaboy • Sylvia Rambo • Albert Leisenring Watson • Frederick Follmer • John William Murphy • Michael Sheridan • | ||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominated | |||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Adams •Ambrose •Barnes •Brinkema •Bucklew •Chasanow •Coffman •Daughtrey •Ferguson •Ginsburg •Hagen •Jackson •Lancaster •Leval •Lindsay •Messitte •Michael •Piersol •Saris •Schwartz •Seybert •Shanahan •Shaw •Stearns •Trager •Vazquez •Wilken •Wilson | ||
| 1994 | Baer •Barkett •Batts •Beaty •Benavides •Bennett •Berrigan •Biery •Block •Borman •Breyer •Briones •Bryson •Bucklo •Burgess •Burrage •Cabranes •Calabresi •Carr •Casellas •Castillo •Chatigny •Chin •Cindrich •Coar •Collins •Cooper •Cote •Currie •Davis •Dominguez •Downes •Duval •Friedman •Furgeson •Garcia •Gertner •Gettleman •Gillmor •Gilmore •Gleeson •Haggerty •Hamilton •Hannah •Hawkins •Henry •Holmes •Hood •Hull •Hurley •Jack •Jones •Jones •Kaplan •Katz •Kern •Kessler •Koeltl •Lisi •Manning •McKee •McLaughlin •Melancon •Miles-LaGrange •Moore •Motz •Murphy •O'Malley •O'Meara •Oliver •Paez •B. Parker •F. Parker •R. Parker •Perry •Ponsor •Pooler •Porteous •Rendell • Riley •Robertson •Rogers •Ross •Russell •Sands •Sarokin •Scheindlin •Silver •Squatrito •Stewart •Sullivan •Tatel •Thompson •Timlin •Urbina •Vanaskie •Vance •Walls •Wells •Williams | ||
| 1995 | Arterton •Atlas •Black •Blake •Briscoe •Tena Campbell •Todd Campbell •Chesney •Cole •Collier •Daniel •Davis •Dennis •Dlott •Donald •Duffy •Economus •Evans •Fallon •Folsom •Gaughan •Goodwin •Heartfield •Hunt •Illston •Jones •King •Kornmann •Lawson •Lenard •Lucero •Lynch •McKinley •Moody •Moore •Moskowitz •Murphy •Murtha •Nugent •O'Toole •Orlofsky •Pogue •Sessions •C. Smith •O. Smith •Stein •Thornburg •Tunheim •Wallach •Wardlaw •Webber •Whaley •Winmill • Wood | ||
| 1996 | Broadwater •Clevert •Fenner •Gershon •Gottschall •Greenaway •Hinkle •Jones •Kahn •Laughrey •Lemmon •Marten •Miller •Molloy •Montgomery •Pregerson •Rakoff •Sargus •Tashima •Thomas •Zapata | ||
| 1997 | Adelman •Bataillon •Breyer •Caputo •Casey •Chambers •Clay •Damrell •Droney •Friedman •Gajarsa •Garland •Gilman •Gold •Gwin •Hall •Hayden •Hull •Ishii •Jenkins •Kauffman •Kennedy •Kimball •Kollar-Kotelly •Lazzara •Marbley •Marcus •Middlebrooks •Miller •Moon •Pratt •Rendell •Sippel •Siragusa •Snyder •Thrash | ||
| 1998 | Aiken •Barbier •Barzilay •Berman •Buttram •Carter •Collins •Dawson •Dimitrouleas •Fletcher •Fogel •Frank •Graber •Hellerstein •Herndon •James •Johnson •Kane •Kelly •G. King •R. King •Lasnik •Lee •Lemelle •Lindsay •Lipez •Manella •Matz •McCuskey •McKeown •McMahon •Mickle •Mollway •Mordue •Moreno •Morrow •Munley •Murphy •Pallmeyer •Pauley •Polster •Pooler •Rawlinson •Ridgway •R. Roberts •V. Roberts •Sack •Scott •Seitz •Seymour •Shea •Silverman •Sleet •Sotomayor •Steeh •Story •Straub •Tagle •Tarnow •Trauger •Traxler •Tyson •Wardlaw •Whelan •Young | ||
| 1999 | Alsup •Barry •Brown •Buchwald •Cooper •Eaton •Ellison •Feess •Fisher •Gould •Guzman •Haynes •Hibbler •Hochberg •Hurd •Huvelle •Jordan •Katzmann •Kennelly •Linn •Lorenz •Lynn •Marrero •Murguia •Pannell •Pechman •Pepper •Phillips •Schreier •Stewart •Underhill •Ward •Williams •Wilson | ||
| 2000 | Ambro •Antoon •Battani •Berzon •Bolton •Brady •Bye •Cavanaugh •Daniels •Darrah •Dawson •Dyk •Fuentes •Garaufis •Garcia-Gregory •Hamilton •Huck •Hunt •Lawson •Lefkow •Lynch •Martin •McLaughlin •Moody •Murguia •Paez •Pisano •Presnell •Rawlinson •Reagan •Schiller •Singal •Steele •Surrick •Swain •Tallman •Teilborg •Tucker •Whittemore | ||
- Pages using DynamicPageList3 parser function
- Appointed by Barack Obama
- Appointed by William J. Clinton
- Confirmed 1994
- Confirmed 2010
- Federal Article III judges
- Federal judiciary nominee, August 2009
- Federal judiciary nominee, November 1993
- Former federal judge
- Former federal judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
- Former federal judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania
- United States of America
- Noteworthy case
- Former federal judge, Third Circuit
- Former federal judge, Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Appointed by Bill Clinton
- Confirmed February 1994
- Confirmed April 2010
- Former chief judge
- Former chief judge, Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Former Article III judges
