Petrese B. Tucker

Petrese Debré Brown Tucker (born May 27, 1951) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Education and career

Tucker was born in Philadelphia. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law in 1976. She was a law clerk for Judge Lawrence Prattis of the Common Pleas Court from 1976 to 1978. She was in private practice in Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1978. She was an Assistant District Attorney of Philadelphia, District Attorney Office from 1978 to 1986. She was an adjunct professor, Great Lakes Colleges Association from 1984 to 1985. She was a senior trial attorney of Southeastern Transportation Authority Legal Department from 1986 to 1987. She was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 2000.

Federal judicial service

On July 27, 1999, Tucker was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge Thomas N. O'Neill, Jr. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000, and received her commission on June 1, 2000. Tucker served as the first woman and first African-American woman Chief Judge of the District starting on May 1, 2013, and she served in this position until July 31, 2017. She assumed senior status on June 1, 2021.