Theodore McKee

Who is Theodore McKee?

Theodore Alexander McKee is the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He had previously served on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

Judge McKee was born in Rochester, New York. He received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Cortland in 1969 and earned his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law where he was an honor student graduating magna cum laude in 1975.

Judge McKee was in private practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1975 to 1977. From 1977 to 1980 he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. McKee began in the General Crimes Unit, moved to the Narcotics and Firearms Unit, and finally worked in the Political Corruption Unit. In his first year as an A.U.S.A., Judge McKee investigated allegations of police brutality before a special grand jury, as part of a nationwide probe into police brutality by the United States Civil Rights Commission.

In 1980 he became a Deputy City Solicitor in the Philadelphia City Solicitor's office, where he remained until 1983 when he became General Counsel for the Philadelphia Parking Authority. In 1984 he was elected as a Judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where he served until 1994.