Richard Lowell Nygaard was born in
Thief River Falls,
Minnesota, on July 9, 1940. He received a
Bachelor of Science degree cum laude from the
University of Southern California in 1969 and a
Juris Doctor from the
University of Michigan Law School in 1971. He was a Petty Officer Second Class in the
United States Naval Reserve from 1958 to 1964. He was in private practice in
North East,
Pennsylvania from 1972 to 1980. He was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas, Sixth District of Pennsylvania,
Erie, Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1988. ==Federal judicial service==