D. Michael Fisher
2017 - Present
7
D. Michael Fisher is a senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. He joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. Judge Fisher elected to take senior status beginning February 1, 2017.[1]
Education
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Fisher graduated from Georgetown University with his bachelor's degree in 1966 and from Georgetown University Law Center with his J.D. in 1969.[1]
Professional career
- 2003-present: United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit
- 2017-present: Senior judge
- 2003-2017: Judge
- 1997-2003: Attorney General of Pennsylvania
- 1980-1996: Senator, Pennsylvania State Senate
- 1974-1980: Representative, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- 1970-1997: Private practice, Pennsylvania
- 1970-1974: Assistant district attorney, Allegheny County District Attorney's Office
- 1969: Law clerk in private practice[1]
Judicial career
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: D. Michael Fisher |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 222 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 1, 2003
|
| ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: October 15, 2003
|
| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: November 6, 2003
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| Confirmed: December 9, 2003
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| Vote: Voice vote
|
Fisher was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003, to a seat vacated by Carol Mansmann. The American Bar Association rated Fisher Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.[2] Hearings on Fisher's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 15, 2003, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on November 6, 2003. Fisher was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2003, and he received his commission on December 11, 2003. Judge Fisher elected to take senior status beginning February 1, 2017.[1][3]
Noteworthy cases
Judges agree that non-fiction book about known affair isn't defamatory (2014)
On March 26, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit, composed of Judges Fisher, Thomas Ambro, and Thomas Hardiman, ruled that a non-fiction book was not defamatory even though it addressed a married woman's affair with her boss.[4]
In the underlying case, Penguin Group published a book written by Michael Capuzzo called "The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases," in August 2010. The book recounted the work of the Vidocq Society, a Philadelphia-based forensic group, and its founding member, Frank Bender. Bender's assistant, Joan Crecenz, filed a lawsuit in 2011, alleging that she was defamed and suffered false light invasion of privacy as a result of Capuzzo's "reckless casting" of her as one of her boss's "girlfriends." During the course of the litigation, however, additional facts were disclosed concerning Crecenz's sexual relationship with Bender, and Judge Noel Hillman of the District of New Jersey awarded summary judgment to Penguin Group and Capuzzo.[4]
Crecenz appealed to the Third Circuit, which affirmed the ruling. Judge Hardiman, on behalf of the majority, wrote:[4]
| “ | [W]e agree with the District Court that summary judgment is appropriate because Capuzzo possessed overwhelming evidence of a sexual relationship between Bender and Crescenz, and because Crescenz has failed to refute that evidence. Even if a jury could credit Crescenz’s testimony and find the allegations of a sexual relationship false, no reasonable jury could find that Capuzzo was negligent in ascertaining the truth of his statements. Accordingly, the District Court did not err in granting summary judgment to Capuzzo on Crescenz’s defamation claim.[5] | ” |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 570 — D. Michael Fisher — The Judiciary," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Courthouse News Service, "Exposing Not-So Secret Affair Isn't Defamatory," April 22, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Carol Mansmann |
Third Circuit Court of Appeals 2003–2017 |
Succeeded by: David Porter
|
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| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
