As of October 1, Judge Smith has succeeded Judge McKee as Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  Judge McKee has been Chief Judge since 2010, succeeding Judge Scirica in that role.  Judge McKee is thus, to date, the only Third Circuit Chief Judge that this blog has ever known. The new Chief Judge, Judge Smith, is very familiar to readers of this blog as a prolific author of opinions, especially in the area of class actions.  A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and Dickinson School of Law, the predecessor to Penn State Law, Judge Smith began his legal career in private...

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