Ruggero John Aldisert (born November 10, 1919 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Aldisert graduated as a bachelor of arts from University of Pittsburgh in 1941. He served during World War II as a Major in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. He earned his law degree from University of Pittsburgh in 1947. He was the National President of Italian Sons and Daughters of America from 1954 to 1968.

He entered private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1947, and became a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1968. He was Chief Judge from 1984 to 1986. He assumed senior status in 1986, and currently works from his chambers in California.

Aldisert has been an adjunct professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has written a memoir and several books on jurisprudence, including The Judicial Process (West 2nd. ed. 1996), Logic for Lawyers: A Guide to Clear Legal Thinking (NITA 3rd ed. 1997), Winning on Appeal (NITA 2nd ed. 2003), and Opinion Writing (West 2nd. ed. 2009).

Judge Aldisert wrote a dissenting opinion in FAIR v. Rumsfeld, 390 F.3d 219 (2004), a high-profile case challenging the Solomon Amendment, a federal law that denies federal funding to colleges and universities that prohibit on-campus recruiting by the military. The majority opinion enjoined enforcement of the law on First Amendment grounds. Judge Aldisert's dissenting view was ultimately vindicated by the United States Supreme Court, which granted certiorari in the case and unanimously reversed the Third Circuit and upheld the validity of the Solomon Amendment.

In 2005 Aldisert became the first recipient of the "Distinguished Appellate Jurist Award", bestowed by the American Bar Association's Council of Appellate Lawyers.

In 2008, Aldisert received the Legal Writing Institute's "Golden Pen Award."

[edit] References

• Ruggero J. Aldisert at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.