--- title: "Peter Joseph Phipps | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Peter Joseph Phipps 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 July 17, 2019 - Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 2018-present - Adjunct professor, Duquesne University School of Law, 2014-present - Attorney, Federal Programs Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 2003-2018 - He then joined the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division in 2003, serving as trial attorney, senior counsel, and senior trial counsel in the Federal Programs Branch - Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2001-2002 - As a Third Circuit judge, Phipps hears appeals from federal cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and participates in the court’s broader appellate work - Law clerk to Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. on the Sixth Circuit ### Education - Stanford University — J.D. (1998) - Stanford Law School in, where he held the role of managing editor of the Stanford Law & Policy Review — J.D. (1998) ### Additional information - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit: Nominated by Trump on May 13, 2019; confirmed by the Senate on July 16, 2019; commissioned July 17, 2019. - U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania: Nominated by President Donald Trump on February 15, 2018; confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018; served until July 22, 2019. - senior trial counsel, 2011-2018 - senior counsel, 2009-2011 - trial attorney, 2003-2009 - Private practice, Columbus, OH, 1998-2001 - Practiced civil litigation at Jones Day in Columbus, Ohio (1998–2001). - Phipps was born in Abilene, Texas, and earned both a B.A. in history and a B.S. in physics summa cum laude from the University of Dayton in 1995. - Born April 8, 1973. - Date of birth: 1973-01-01 - His DOJ work included high-profile cases involving federal civil rights, housing, and other civil matters, and he received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. - Phipps has been associated with positions consistent with the Trump administration’s legal priorities. - He has dissented in cases such as Diamond v. - Pennsylvania State Education Association and Janus v. - AFSCME (public-sector union fee disputes). - He also dissented in a ruling granting qualified immunity to Pittsburgh police in a case involving alleged excessive force. - Birth place: Abilene, TX ## 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/5374591) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5374591) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5374591) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8623/peter-joseph-phipps/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8623/peter-joseph-phipps/) - [Wikidata: Peter J. Phipps](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48571993) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps", "name": "Peter Joseph Phipps | KnowJudges", "description": "Peter Joseph Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps#judge", "name": "Peter Joseph Phipps", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps", "jobTitle": "U.S. Circuit Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/5374591", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8623/peter-joseph-phipps/" ], "birthDate": "1973", "birthPlace": "Abilene, TX", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Dayton" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Stanford University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Dayton" } ] }, { "@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": "Peter Joseph Phipps", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-joseph-phipps" } ] } ] } ```