Quick Facts
Biography
Gerald Joseph Weber (February 1, 1914 – August 28, 1989) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Weber received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1936 and received his LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1939. He was an Instructor at Gannon College, Erie, Pennsylvania from 1939 to 1941. He was in private law practice in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1940 to 1942. Beginning in 1942, he served in the United States Army as a Captain until 1946. From 1946 to 1947 he was a Chief of Counter-Intelligence, U.S. War Department, Salzburg, Austria. After the war, he returned to private law practice in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1947 to 1964. During this period he also served as City Solicitor, Erie, Pennsylvania from 1950 to 1960.
On April 30, 1964, Weber was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by John W. McIlvaine. Weber was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15, 1964, and received his commission the same day. Weber served as Chief Judge for the District Court from 1976-1982. He assumed senior status on December 31, 1988 and remained active with the court until his death on August 28, 1989 in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Among his most significant rulings was a 1981 order that consolidated several suburban Pittsburgh school districts to end a racial discrimination lawsuit. A man of broad knowledge, incisive thinking, stern demeanor, and subtle wit, Weber is known to many law students in their judicial procedure course for his cleverly crafted 1971 opinion in Mayo v. Satan and His Staff. He also was an avid fisherman of the lakes and streams of Western Pennsylvania, ( "trolling for muskies" in Lake Erie) and a voracious reader of both classics and crime novels. Every Sunday for more than 40 years he did the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen. Legendary for his colorful nature as well as his sharp legal mind, Weber is believed by some to live on in spirit in the halls of Pittsburgh's Grant Street federal court building.
Notable cases
- United States ex rel. Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff
- John E. Bower v. United States of America