--- title: "Arianna Julia Freeman | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Arianna Julia Freeman U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since October 20, 2022 - Federal Community Defender Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2009-2022; research and writing specialist, Capital Habeas Unit, 2009-2014; assistant federal defender, Non-Capital Habeas Unit, 2014-2016; managing attorney, Non-Capital Habeas Unit, 2016-2022 - Also an adjunct professor at Drexel University School of Law (2019–2020) - Law clerk, Hon. C. Darnell Jones II, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2008-2009 - She held the role of a law clerk to Judge James T. Giles (2007–2008) and Judge C. Darnell Jones II (2008–2009) on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - Temporary law clerk, Hon. Joel Harvey Slomsky,U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2008 - Law clerk, Hon. James T. Giles, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2007-2008 - Attorney General New Jersey, and Patrick Santoro v ### Education - Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Law School in 2007, where she edited The Yale Journal of International Law. ### Additional information - On January 19, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Freeman to replace Judge Theodore McKee, who had assumed senior status. - Well‐qualified federal judge with a background in public defense and habeas corpus work, appointed to the Third Circuit in 2022 after a narrow Senate confirmation. - Her nomination faced scrutiny over her public defender work, and the Senate Judiciary Committee initially failed to report it (11–11 vote, April 4, 2022). - The Senate ultimately confirmed her by a 50–47 vote on September 29, 2022, and she received her judicial commission on October 20, 2022. - Freeman earned her B.A. with honors from Swarthmore College in 2001 - Born 1978 in Boston, Massachusetts. - Date of birth: 1978 - Philip Epps, Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs I v. - Tower Health. - Part of the legal team that won a federal habeas corpus challenge in the death penalty case of Terrance Williams, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court. - As a circuit judge, Freeman hears appeals in federal cases within the Third Circuit’s jurisdiction, which covers Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and parts of Maryland and Puerto Rico. - Her recent cases include United States v. - Birth place: Boston ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12588691) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12588691) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12588691) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [Judge Arianna Julia Freeman](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12588691) - [Wikidata: Arianna J. Freeman](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110622371) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman", "name": "Arianna Julia Freeman | KnowJudges", "description": "Arianna Julia Freeman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman#judge", "name": "Arianna Julia Freeman", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman", "jobTitle": "U.S. Circuit Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/12588691" ], "birthDate": "1978", "birthPlace": "Boston", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Swarthmore College" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Yale Law School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "National federal courts", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/national-federal-courts" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arianna Julia Freeman", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/arianna-julia-freeman" } ] } ] } ```