Arlin Adams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | |
| In office October 2, 1969 – January 2, 1987 | |
| Appointed by | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Harry Ellis Kalodner |
| Succeeded by | William D. Hutchinson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arlin Marvin Adams (1921-04-16)April 16, 1921 |
| Died | December 22, 2015(2015-12-22) (aged 94)[1] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Temple University (BS,MA) University of Pennsylvania (LLB) |
Arlin Marvin Adams (April 16, 1921 – December 22, 2015) was aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[2] As late as 2013 he served as counsel toSchnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, andwas listed as aNAFTA adjudicator.
Born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, Adams was Jewish.[3] He earned aBachelor of Science degree in 1941 fromTemple University, aBachelor of Laws from theUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School in 1947, and aMaster of Arts degree from Temple in 1950. While at Penn, he served as editor-in-chief of the law review.[4]
Adams worked in private legal practice in Philadelphia from 1947 until 1969. He also was a member of the faculty of theUniversity of Pennsylvania from 1952 until 1956.[4] He was a secretary of public welfare for theCommonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1966.[5]
On September 22, 1969, PresidentRichard Nixon nominated Adams to a seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that had been vacated by the decision by JudgeHarry Ellis Kalodner to take senior status. TheUnited States Senate confirmed Adams on October 1, 1969, and he received his commission on October 2, 1969.[4] In 1971, President Richard Nixon came close to nominating Adams to the Supreme Court of the United States, but nominated William Rehnquist instead after the Third Circuit, in an opinion written by Adams, reversed the convictions of several nuns involved in an anti-Vietnam War protest.[6] In 1975 Adams was considered by PresidentGerald Ford as a nominee to theSupreme Court of the United States. Adams was one of two finalists; Ford ultimately wound up successfully nominating the other finalist,John Paul Stevens.[7] He was also mentioned as a potential Supreme Court nominee in 1987 for the seat vacated byLewis Powell, for whichRobert Bork,Douglas Ginsburg, andAnthony Kennedy were eventually nominated.[8]
Adams retired outright from the bench (rather than takingsenior status) on January 2, 1987. He returned to private practice, joining the firmSchnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP. Adams was well known for his post-judiciary roles in significant legal cases. In 1994, he conducted an investigation of the Pennsylvania attorney general for alleged criminal activity, and investigated allegations of improper medical research at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Soon after in 1995, he was appointed to serve as a trustee in theNew Era bankruptcy case, at that time the largest nonprofit bankruptcy in history. He also served as the Chapter 11 Trustee in the successful reorganization of the Coram Healthcare Corporation in the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996.[9] From 1998 to 2002, Adams served as independent counsel in an investigation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that uncovered widespread corruption.[4][10]
Adams service to society includes both legal and community capacities. Adams was a member of the Board of the Pennsylvania, and had previously served as a member of the board and Chairman of theEinstein Healthcare Network, trustee for theWilliam Penn Foundation, the National Constitution Center, theLincoln Charitable Trust andBryn Mawr College and President of the congregation forReform Congregation Keneseth Israel. He was a former chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association and past president of both the American Judicature Society and American Philosophical Society. He also was the former chair of theU.S. Supreme Court Judicial Fellows Commission.
In 2001,Susquehanna University created theArlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society, and in 2005, with the support of the Annenberg Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania Law School established the Arlin M. Adams Professorship in Constitutional Law. TheDrexel University School of Law established the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Legal Writing position in 2007 to recognize Adams' long career as a lawyer and judge.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 1969–1987 | Succeeded by |
