Sylvia H. Rambo

Sylvia Hilda Rambo (April 17, 1936 – December 23, 2024) was an American jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from her appointment in 1979 until her retirement in August 2024.

In 1979, Rambo became the first woman appointed as a judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, whose sprawling jurisdiction includes thirty-three Pennsylvania counties.

Judge Rambo was a longtime advocate for the construction of a new, modern federal courthouse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to replace the aging Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law and, in 2022, Judge Rambo became one of the only women in history to have an American federal courthouse named in her honor. The new Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse, the first federal courthouse in Pennsylvania named for a woman, officially opened to the public on April 17, 2023.

Early life and career Rambo was born in Royersford, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in 1958 and a Juris Doctor from Dickinson School of Law (now Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law) in 1962. She began her legal career as an attorney for the Trust Department of the Bank of Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware from 1962 to 1963. From 1963 to 1976 Rambo maintained a private practice in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In conjunction with her private practice, she served as a public defender for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1976, and as chief public defender in 1976. She was an adjunct faculty member at the Dickinson School of Law from 1975 to 1977. In 1976, Rambo was appointed to serve on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland County, and thus became the first female judge to serve on that bench. After her term expired in 1978, she returned to private practice in Carlisle until 1979.

Federal judicial service On May 29, 1979, Rambo was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania created by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 23, 1979, and received her commission on July 24, 1979. She served as chief judge from 1992 to 1999, and assumed senior status on April 18, 2001. She retired from senior service on August 30, 2024.