CCJ Directory

Ted McKee was sworn in as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on June 20, 1994, and became Chief Judge on May 4, 2010. He graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 1975 where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif, and earned several honors for outstanding academic performance.

He began his legal career at a large Philadelphia law firm, but left there in 1977 to begin his career in public service. He has since been an Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Solicitor to the Law Department of the City of Philadelphia, and General Counsel to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

He was elected to a 10-year term as a Judge of the Court of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. While a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Judge McKee chaired the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission.

He was appointed to the Court of Appeals by President Clinton shortly after being retained for a second 10-year term on the Court of Common Pleas. Judge McKee serves on the boards of directors of several nonprofit organizations and institutions including the Vera Institute of Justice and Syracuse University. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors of Temple Law School, an honorary member of the Board of Visitors of Syracuse University Law School, and has been an advisor to the American Law Institute’s Project to revise the sentencing provisions of the Model Penal Code. He also previously served on the Criminal Law Committee of the United States Judicial Conference. Most recently, Judge McKee was appointed to serve as a member of the National Academy of Science Committee on Law and Justice, and is one of the inaugural members of the Council on Criminal Justice. He also serves on the Board of the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement.

Judge McKee’s official travels have included Ghana and Russia, where he had the honor of addressing the Council of Russian Judges on the Independence of the American Judiciary.