Sylvia H. Rambo
Sylvia H. Rambo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rambo in 2022 | |
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania | |
| In office April 18, 2001 – August 30, 2024 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania | |
| In office 1992–1999 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Paul Conaboy |
| Succeeded by | Thomas I. Vanaskie |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania | |
| In office July 24, 1979 – April 18, 2001 | |
| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629 |
| Succeeded by | Christopher C. Conner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 17, 1936 Royersford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Dickinson College (BA, JD) |
Sylvia H. Rambo (born April 17, 1936) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.[1] She served on the court from 1979 to 2024.
Education and career
[edit]Rambo was born in Royersford, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in 1958 and a Juris Doctor from Dickinson School of Law (now Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law) in 1962. She began her legal career as an attorney for the Trust Department of the Bank of Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware from 1962 to 1963. From 1963 to 1976 Rambo maintained a private practice in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In conjunction with her private practice, she served as a public defender for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1976, and as chief public defender in 1976. She was an adjunct faculty member at the Dickinson School of Law from 1975 to 1977. In 1976, Rambo was appointed to serve on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland County, and thus became the first female judge to serve on that bench. After her term expired in 1978, she returned to private practice in Carlisle until 1979.[2]
Federal judicial service
[edit]On May 29, 1979, Rambo was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania created by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 23, 1979, and received her commission on July 24, 1979. She served as chief judge from 1992 to 1999, and assumed senior status on April 18, 2001.[2] Both her commission on the bench and tenure as chief judge in the Middle District were firsts for women. On June 28, 2022, the United States Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was named in her honor.[3] She retired from active service on August 30, 2024.[2]
See also
[edit]- List of first women lawyers and judges in Pennsylvania
- List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
References
[edit]- ^ Selection and Confirmation of Federal Judges. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 435. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Sylvia H. Rambo at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ "New Courthouse Honors Judge Sylvia Rambo, Tireless Trailblazer".
Sources
[edit]- Sylvia H. Rambo at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1936 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American judges
- 20th-century American women judges
- 21st-century American judges
- 21st-century American women judges
- American legal scholars
- American women legal scholars
- Dickinson College alumni
- Dickinson School of Law alumni
- Dickinson School of Law faculty
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Public defenders
- United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter