Seamus McCaffery
|
Honorable Seamus P. McCaffery |
|
|---|---|
| Justice of Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | |
|
In office January 2008 – October 2014 |
|
| Justice of Superior Court of Pennsylvania | |
|
In office January 2004 – January 2008 |
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| Administrative Judge of Philadelphia County Municipal Court | |
|
In office 2001–2004 |
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| Judge of Philadelphia County Municipal Court | |
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In office 1993–2001 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 3, 1950 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality |
 Ireland United Kingdom United States
|
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Alma mater |
Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D., 1989 La Salle University, B.A., 1977 |
| Profession | Judge |
| Website | Official Website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch |
Marine Corps (1968–1985) Air Force (1985–2008) |
| Years of service | 1968–2008 |
| Rank | Captain (Marine Corps); Colonel (Air Force) |
Seamus P. McCaffery (born June 3, 1950) is a retired Justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his election to the Supreme Court, he was a judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, and prior to that was a municipal court judge in Philadelphia. He was the judge at "Eagles Court", an ad hoc court created to deal with unruly fans at Philadelphia Eagles games.
McCaffery was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1950. His family emigrated to the United States when he was five. He graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philadelphia and joined the United States Marine Corps.
After leaving active duty, McCaffery joined the Marine Corps Reserve and joined the Philadelphia Police Department. He served in the police department for 20 years, rising to sergeant. While a police officer, McCaffery put himself through university at La Salle University and law school at Temple University. He became a member of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. bars and worked as a litigation associate.
In 2008 he retired as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He is also a 33° Mason.
In 1993, McCaffery won election to Municipal Court in Philadelphia. With support from members of the city council, he developed Eagles Court in 1998 in response to a 1997 Monday Night Football game between the Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. With over 60 fistfights reported at the nationally televised game, stadium violence became an embarrassment for the city. McCaffery presided over the court, which was convened in the basement of Veterans Stadium, and handed out fines or jail time to fans arrested during games. Prior to protests at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, McCaffery announced a plan for the preventive detention of protesters. Because of this, defense attorneys asked him to recuse himself from trials involving the protests, but he refused, without hearing the arguments.
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