William S. Stickman IV

William Shaw Stickman IV (born 1979) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Education

Stickman earned his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in 2002 and his Juris Doctor in 2005 from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Duquesne Law Review during law school.

Legal career

From 2006 to 2007, Stickman served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Ralph Cappy of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was then hired as an associate with Del Sole Cavanaugh Stroyd LLC in 2007 and became a partner in 2013, where his practice focused on commercial litigation, appellate matters, and personal injury law. From 2011 to 2017, he served on the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee. On June 5, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On June 27, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On July 30, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 57–31 vote. On July 31, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 56–34 vote. He received his judicial commission on August 5, 2019.

Notable ruling On September 14, 2020, Stickman ruled that the stay at home order issued by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf amidst the coronavirus pandemic was unconstitutional, violating the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment. The Wolf administration filed an appeal for a stay of the ruling. On October 1, 2020, Stickman's ruling was stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, pending appeal.