Patty Shwartz was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Judge Shwartz earned her B.A., with highest honors, from Rutgers College and her
J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review. Following law school, Judge Shwartz was an associate at the law firm then known as Pepper, Hamilton, & Scheetz in Philadelphia and thereafter served as a law clerk to the Honorable Harold A. Ackerman, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey. After her clerkship, Judge Shwartz served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she held various supervisory positions, including Criminal Chief and Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney. Following her tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Shwartz served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and held that position until her appointment to the Court of Appeals.
Judge Shwartz currently serves on the Committee on Criminal Law of the Judicial Conference of the United States as well as several Third Circuit court committees, including the Circuit’s Executive Committee. She is also Chair of the Third Circuit Judicial Council=s Magistrate Judge Committee and Vice Chair of the Facilities and Security Committee.
Judge Shwartz is a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the Board of Directors of the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the District of Jersey, the Advisory Board of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, and the Executive Committee of the John C. Lifland Inn of Court.
Judge Shwartz is a Fellow of the American Bar Association and was the Third Circuit=s representative to the Board of Directors of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association and Federal Judges Association. She is currently a member of the FJA’s Executive Committee.
Judge Shwartz teaches at Fordham Law School and Rutgers - Newark, School of Law.