Edward R. Becker
| Edward Roy Becker | |
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| Chief Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | |
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In office 1998–2003 |
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| Preceded by | Dolores Sloviter |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Joseph Scirica |
| Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | |
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In office December 3, 1981 – May 4, 2003 |
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| Nominated by | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Max Rosenn |
| Succeeded by | Franklin Stuart Van Antwerpen |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | |
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In office October 14, 1970 – January 22, 1982 |
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| Appointed by | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | new seat |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Newman O'Neill, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 4, 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 19, 2006 (aged 73) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Edward Roy Becker (May 4, 1933 – May 19, 2006) was a United States federal judge on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Becker received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954, and his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1957. He had a private law practice in Philadelphia from 1957 to 1970.
Becker's career as a federal judge began with his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was nominated by President Richard M. Nixon on September 24, 1970 to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294, was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 1970 and received his commission on October 14, 1970. His service terminated on January 22, 1982 due to his elevation to the Third Circuit.
Ronald Reagan nominated Becker on November 16, 1981 to the Third Circuit seat vacated by Max Rosenn. Becker was confirmed by the Senate on December 3, 1981 and received his commission on the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1998 to 2003. He assumed senior status on May 4, 2003.
Becker was known for the case Mackensworth v. American Trading Transportation Co. a decision that he wrote in verse. He was also known for occasionally inserting humor into judicial rulings.
In 1977 Becker was assigned the massive Japanese Electronic Products Antitrust Litigation in which Zenith Radio Corp. and National Union Electric (“N.U.E.”) sought billions of dollars in damages against most of the Japanese television manufacturers and two American companies, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Motorola. The case had been pending since 1970 when it was first filed by N.U.E. and had been in the hands of a number of federal court judges. The case had languished and Becker began to work to get this case to trial. In 1981, Becker entered summary judgment for all defendants on the antitrust and antidumping claims and dismissed the lawsuits. Plaintiffs appealed and the appellate court reversed Becker’s rulings in favor of the Japanese manufacturers on the antitrust claims, but affirmed the summary judgment for Sears, Roebuck and Co., Motorola, Inc. and Sony. In March, 1986 the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed Becker’s ruling in favor of the defendants on Zenith’s antitrust claims.
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