The U.S. Senate has unanimously confirmed U.S. District Judge Thomas Hardiman to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. Thursday’s vote was 95-0. Hardiman, 41, who joined the federal bench in Pittsburgh less than four years ago, will replace Judge Richard L. Nygaard, the former Erie County Common Pleas judge who became a senior judge on the federal circuit in July 2005. Hardiman is the former treasurer of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County and served as co-chairman of former county Chief Executive Jim Roddey’s transition team in 2000 and his failed re-election campaign in 2003. A native of Winchester, Mass., Hardiman graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1987 and — after working briefly as a taxi driver — earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1990. He was a member of the bars in Massachusetts, Washington and Pennsylvania. He has been active with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh. The 3rd Circuit is one of 13 federal appeals courts and has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is a step below the U.S. Supreme Court.

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