Robert E. Cowen (born September 4, 1930) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit based in Philadelphia. He joined the court in 1987 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan. Cowen has served in the federal judiciary since 1978.
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 16/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 420/year
New Jersey District Court · 1985–1987Third Circuit Court of Appeals · 1987–1998
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Division of Ethics and Professional Services, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Trenton, New JerseyDirector · 1973–1978
State of New JerseyDeputy attorney general · 1970–1973- Essex County, New JerseyAssistant prosecutor · 1969–1970
- Private practice, Newark, New Jersey1959–1969
- Superior Court of New JerseyLaw clerk , Hon. Walter Conklin · 1958–1959
Appointments
1987–1998 · Appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)
1985–1987 · Appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- Rutgers School of Law -- NewarkLL.B. · 1958
- Drake UniversityB.S. · 1952