Last month, the Honorable Yvette Kane marked twenty-five years of distinguished service to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by hosting a reunion of her law clerks. Twenty-five law clerks gathered for a weekend of events, including a cocktail party, a tour of midtown Harrisburg and the new Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse, a celebration dinner at Mangia Qui (see attached photo of Judge Kane pictured with twenty-five law clerks and her former Judicial Assistant, now Courtroom Deputy, Dawn McNew), and a farewell brunch. Judge Kane’s law clerks, many of whom have distinguished themselves in the practice of law and other fields, traveled from Texas, California, Florida, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina, New York, Washington, DC, New Orleans, and even from Vienna, Austria, to celebrate Judge Kane.
After receiving her law degree from the Tulane University School of Law in 1976, Judge Kane embarked on a lengthy career in public service, including positions with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the State of Colorado Attorney General’s Office, the Denver District Attorney’s Office, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission, and as Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania Department of State, before her investiture on October 27, 1998.
Judge Kane served as Chief Judge of the MDPA United States District Court from September 1, 2006 through August 31, 2013. While Chief Judge, she instituted a pioneering Court-assisted reentry program (CARE Court) to assist criminal defendants with adjustment to life after incarceration. During her time on the Court, Judge Kane also served the community through her participation on boards of numerous community organizations, including Theatre Harrisburg, Open Stage, the Art Association of Harrisburg, and the Cleve J. Fredricksen Library.
Judge Kane assumed senior status in late 2018 and was succeeded on the Court by the Honorable Jennifer P. Wilson in the fall of 2019. As a senior judge, Judge Kane continues to carry a significant civil caseload as well as to sit periodically by designation with the Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeal.
