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Career & Education
About
Marvin Katz (November 22, 1930 – October 12, 2010) was a Federal District Court Judge in Philadelphia, serving as a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1983 until his retirement in 1998, thereafter as a senior judge until his death. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on November 10, 1983, to fill a seat vacated by Judge Louis Charles Bechtle, Katz was confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 1983, and commissioned the following day. Prior to his appointment, he practiced law in Philadelphia as a partner with future U.S. Senator Arlen Specter at the firm Specter & Katz. Katz earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1955 (LL.B.). He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar the same year and built a legal career in the region before ascending to the federal bench. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Katz's judicial tenure focused on civil and criminal cases in the Eastern District, contributing to the Pennsylvania legal landscape over more than three decades.