Full Name: Stephen J. McEwen, Jr.
Year of Induction: 2015
Steve McEwen was elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 1981 and became its President Judge in 1996. A notable leader of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal, he served on the Executive Committee and became president in 2004. With aplomb and his ever-present cheerfulness and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, he led the organization during the needed decision to change its secretariat. He created the Council’s logo, banners and other paraphernalia, and made an indelible mark on the Council in the resolutions he crafted over the years – his way with words is incomparable.
A graduate of St. Joseph’s College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he received his LL.M. from the University of Virginia Law School. He was a trial lawyer in private practice for 23 years, the District Attorney of Delaware County, and General Counsel for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. After joining the bench, he was a member f the Court of Judicial Discipline and was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to chair the state’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission. He also was a Professor of Trial Advocacy at Villanova University Law School. He retired from the bench on December 31, 2012.