Franklin Van Antwerpen

Franklin Stuart Van Antwerpen (October 23, 1941 – July 25, 2016) was a United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He assumed senior status on October 23, 2006, on his 65th birthday, serving in that status until his death.

Born in Passaic, New Jersey, he attended Newark Academy, graduating in 1960. Van Antwerpen studied at the University of Maine, receiving a Bachelor of Science. He earned a J.D. at the Temple University Beasley School of Law.

Before joining the federal bench, Van Antwerpen served as a state trial judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Prior to that he had been in private practice in Easton, Pennsylvania, as well as serving as counsel for the Hazeltine Corporation and the Northampton County Legal Aid Society.

Van Antwerpen was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan.

On September 11, 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated Van Antwerpen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. However, Van Antwerpen's nomination languished in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it expired with the end of Bush's presidency. President Bill Clinton chose not to renominate Van Antwerpen to the Third Circuit.

Van Antwerpen again was nominated to the Third Circuit by President George W. Bush on November 21, 2003. He was confirmed ([1]) 96-0 by the United States Senate on May 20, 2004. "It's happened. We did it. And wow!" Van Antwerpen told a local newspaper after his confirmation vote. He was succeeded at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Judge Thomas M. Golden.

Van Antwerpen assumed senior status in 2006 and served in that status until his death on July 25, 2016, in Palmer Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. His seat on the Third Circuit was filled by Thomas I. Vanaskie in 2010.