The senior U.S. Circuit Court judge was born in Passaic 73 years ago, Oct. 23.
Van Antwerpen studied at the University of Maine, and earned his law degree at Temple University Beasley School of Law. He was in private practice in Easton, Pa. before becoming judge on the Court of Common Pleas.
He was first appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, then nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President George H.W. Bush. That nomination lapsed, but he was renominated by President George W. Bush in 2003 and confirmed by a vote of 96-0.
In 2006, when he turned 65, he assumed senior status.
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