Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo

Luis Felipe Restrepo was born in Medellin, Colombia, was raised in Northern Virginia, and took the oath of United States citizenship on September 7, 1993. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Tulane Law School and worked as a Defender in Philadelphia in both the local and federal courts before entering private practice in 1993. He was a partner in the firm of Krasner & Restrepo until June of 2006, when he was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has been an adjunct professor at Temple University James E. Beasley Law School since 1993 and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1997 to 2009, where he was appointed the Irving R. Segal Lecturer in advocacy. His varied publications have appeared in The Legal Intelligencer, The National Law Journal, and the ABA’s Criminal Justice magazine. President Barack Obama nominated Judge Restrepo to be a United States District Court Judge in November of 2012. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 17, 2013 and received his commission on June 19, 2013. In November of 2014 President Obama nominated Judge Restrepo to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, he was confirmed by the Senate on January 11, 2016 and received his commission on January 13, 2016.

In 1995 Judge Restrepo received the New American/New Freedom Committee Award from the Balch Institute in Philadelphia “in appreciation for outstanding service to the greater Philadelphia community and the nation.” In 2000, he was awarded the Cesare Beccaria Award by the Criminal Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Justinian Society for his commitment to criminal justice issues and teaching services. In 2004, he received the Gideon Award presented by Temple Law School for demonstrating a commitment to ensuring that competent counsel are afforded to the indigent. In 2010 he was awarded “La Justicia” award by the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania and the Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award by the Philadelphia Bar Association in recognition for his efforts with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s federal prisoner Re-Entry Program. In 2014 he was presented with the “Campeones de la Justicia” award by the Latino Law Students Association of Rutgers Law School. Judge Restrepo was recognized by Stetson Law School with the Cornerstone Award in 2017 in recognition for his contribution to protecting the right to a trial by jury and teaching trial advocacy. Al Dia newspaper recognized his public service with the 2018 Hispanic Heritage Award and in 2019 the NACDL presented him with the Champion of Justice Recognition Award.

Judge Restrepo is a past President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania. He has served on numerous boards including the Make a Wish Foundation for Philadelphia and Susquehanna Valley, the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, the Board of Directors of the Defender Association of Philadelphia where he served as a Federal Trustee and Secretary of the Board and the Russell Byers Charter School.