The bang of the gavel still stirs him.
And, for Senior U.S. District Judge William J. Nealon, his passion for the law will never recede.
Fifty years ago today, Judge Nealon officially entered the ranks of the federal judiciary as a district judge in Scranton.
President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the post in 1962.
He is now the longest-serving judge in the history of the 3rd U.S. Judicial Circuit, a jurisdiction that includes district courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands. He surpassed Willard Hall, who was appointed to the U.S. District of Delaware by President James Monroe in 1823 and served until 1871.
He is also the third-longest-serving judge still sitting in the federal court system.
The 89-year-old jurist still heads to work at the federal building in the city, which happens to be named after him, and continues to take on cases.
"I love the law," Judge Nealon said in an interview this week. "I'm not as productive as I once was, but I try to do my share."
Born in Scranton on July 31, 1923, Judge Nealon was the first member of his family to become a lawyer, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics from Villanova University in 1947 and earning his law degree from Catholic University in 1950.
He came from humble, working-class roots - his father drove a bread truck for Spaulding Bakery and his mother was a nurse, said his son, Lackawanna County Judge Terrence R. Nealon.
"For me, he's been the consummate role model, always led by example, and demonstrated the importance of honestly, fairness, hard work, and treating everyone with respect and courtesy," his son said.
After practicing law locally for several years, he began his judicial career as a county judge in 1960.
Along the way during his up-and-coming career as a young lawyer and judge, he credited the kindness of others who helped him get to where he is today.
A county employee let him use a library room in the courthouse at no cost to meet clients because he had little money to rent his own office.
Trying to disguise his predicament, he would tell clients that he would happen to be in the library at a certain time, so they should just meet there to discuss their case, he said.
Later as a county judge, he had one man before him, accused of armed-robbery, that he felt would one day commit a much more heinous and ruthless act. He had an "evil look in his eyes," the judge said of George Banks, who at the time in 1961 was 19 and accused of shooting a bartender in South Scranton.
"You're going to have to be watched," the judge recalled thinking at the time, a premonition that the young man would walk the dark path of crime.
Twenty-one years later, Mr. Banks killed 13 people in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Twp., including five of his own children.
He is now in state prison.
In one of his most publicized cases as a federal judge, he ruled to allow student-initiated prayer meetings at a Williamsport public high school, despite arguments that providing space for those meetings would violate Supreme Court decisions on the separation of church and state.
The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his decision, but it was later reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court. "My ruling was predicated on deprivation of access," Judge Nealon said.
Why should some after-school student groups be allowed to use school space, when other groups, like the Bible reading club, be denied just because of their religious affiliation? he asked.
One of Judge Nealon's federal law clerks would much later become a 3rd Circuit judge, Thomas I. Vanaskie.
They were also colleagues, serving together as district judges in Scranton.
"He certainly taught me the value of hard work," said Judge Vanaskie, "and he taught me the value of family and friendship."
And, Judge Nealon helped him shape his legal acumen, he said, turning him into a better thinker and writer. Both qualities serve him well on the Philadelphia-based appellate court, he added, because he often has to deconstruct arcane legal arguments and craft opinions affirming or reversing district court decisions.
Judge Nealon and his wife, Jean, have been married for 65 years. They raised 10 children, and have 27 grandchildren and 10 great-grand-children.
"His family has always been the center of the universe," said his son, Terrance, who presides over cases at the county courthouse across the street from the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
"And what really provides him with the greatest joy are the personal and professional successes of his children, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren," he said. Judge Nealon said he has no plans to retire.
"My public life, I was very fortunate," Judge Nealon said. "I had a lot of good people who supported me and stuck with me all the time. Now, I'm 89 and I'll be 90 in July, ... but I still manage to move around."
Contact the writer: smcconnell@timesshamrock.com, @smcconnellTT on TwitterJudge William J. Nealon Timeline
Jan. 1951 -- William Nealon is admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar.
Jan. 1960 -- Atty Nealon is appointed to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
Dec. 13, 1962 - - Judge William Nealon is appointed to be a United States Court judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Dec. 15, 1962 -- Judge William Nealon is sworn in as a United States Court judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania by Chief Federal Judge Michael Sheridan in a ceremony at the Federal Courthouse in Scranton.
1964 -- Judge Nealon ruled that pinball machines seized in a raid on a Scranton restaurant should be considered gambling devices. He found that the games were designed "so that their play may deliver or entitle the person playing to receive cash or merchandise." The ruling, the first of its kind, was affirmed by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
1970 -- Judge Nealon ruled that police in York did not follow a pattern of racism and physical abuse during citywide race riots, nor did he believe the Police Department tolerated or espoused such attitudes. The plaintiffs in the case were asking the court to order the Police Department to write new regulations and be monitored by a newly appointed police supervisor who would report back to the court.Judge Nealon denied the request. That decision was affirmed by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
n In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Judge Nealon's ruling stating that a Moose Lodge in Harrisburg violated the civil rights of K. Leroy Irvis, the first black speaker of the state House of Representatives, when it denied him service because of his race. Judge Nealon declared the organization's liquor license invalid as long as it continued to discriminate because discrimination was a violation of the 14th Amendment. In overturning that ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the Moose Lodge can withhold service to anyone it wants because it is a private club.
1975 -- Judge Nealon is honored with the Americanism Award by Amos Lodge, B'nai B'rith, Scranton.
1983 -- Judge Nealon ruled to allow student-initiated prayer meetings at a Williamsport public high school despite the defendants' contention that providing space for those meetings would violate Supreme Court decisions on separation of church and state. His decision was reversed by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals but later reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court.
1985 -- Judge Nealon presided over the investment-fraud cause of the E.F. Hutton brokerage house. The company ultimately pleaded guilty to 2,000 counts of fraud that had cost about 400 financial institution billions of dollars. The case was the first of large-scale financial scandals in the 1980s, and Judge Nealon openly criticized the Department of Justice for not prosecuting Hutton executives individually. When the case ended with a plea agreement, Judge Nealon required Hutton President Scott Pierce, the brother-in-law of then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, to enter the pleas on behalf of his company.
1989 -- Judge Nealon takes senior judge status.
1991 -- while sitting by designation on the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Nealon wrote an opinion that set aside the prison sentence in a criminal case because prosecutors had violated the plea agreement by making comments during the sentencing that could be construed as a recommendation. Under the plea agreement, though, prosecutors had agreed to make no specific recommendation. Judge Nealon's opinion put prosecutors on notice that they must abide by plea agreement terms without the slightest deviation or face reversal on appeal.
1997 -- Judge Nealon ruled that a prison inmate suing for money damages after an alleged beating by corrections officers was still required to exhaust administrative remedies, even though the state's inmate grievance process could not provide him with any money award. Both the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision.
1999 -- The federal building in Scranton is renamed William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse. The renaming took place after a construction of new building and renovations to the original building.
Nov 2008 -- WVIA-TV premiered a documentary on Judge Nealon. The documentary is entitled "Judge William J. Nealon: At the Heart of it All."
Sept 2010 -- Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. presents Judge Nealon with the Department of Justice Medallion of Service.
July 2011 -- Judge Nealon becomes the longest-serving district judge in the history of the 3rd Circuit, having been on the bench for 48 years and eight months.
Nov. 2011 - Judge Nealon was honored with the 2011 Professionalism Award for the U.S. Third Circuit at the the American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence.