Theodore Alexander McKee was born in Rochester, New York, in 1947. He completed a bachelor's degree at the State University of New York at Cortland in 1969 and a law degree at Syracuse University in 1975.
After law school, he entered private practice in Philadelphia. In 1977, he became an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, serving until 1980. He then worked as deputy city solicitor and, briefly, general counsel to the Philadelphia Parking Authority. These roles gave him different responsibilities before his judicial career began.
McKee served on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas from 1984 to 1994. During that period, he joined Pennsylvania's Commission on Sentencing and served as its vice chair and chair. He also taught trial advocacy at Rutgers. His work thus included deciding cases, participating in policy development and teaching lawyers.
President Bill Clinton nominated him to the Third Circuit in March 1994, to the seat previously held by A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. The Senate confirmed him in June. McKee served as chief judge from 2010 to 2016 and assumed senior status in October 2022.
While chief judge, he established the circuit's Reentry Courts Committee. The committee supports district courts developing programs for people under federal supervision as they return to their communities. Its work includes sharing information, coordinating efforts and identifying resources. In April 2026, the Third Circuit announced that its biennial reentry summit would bear McKee's name; the next gathering was scheduled for October 21-22, 2026.
McKee has also advised the American Law Institute and served on nonprofit boards, including the National Constitution Center and Vera Institute of Justice. In a 2008 Federal Bar Association profile, he credited his father's example and described his interest in the human effects of judging. Away from the bench, he has kept up interests in science, karate and woodworking.
