Upon his return, Joyce attend Pennsylvania State University and graduated in 1973. He received a law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in 1977 and served as a Presidential Law Clerk in the Ford White House in 1975. He maintained a private practice from 1977 to 1985 before being elected judge for the Erie County Court of Common Pleas in July 1985. He was retained for an additional term in November 1995. He was elected judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 1997.
In the fall of 2008, Joyce was convicted of two felony counts of mail fraud and six felony counts of money laundering. In 2010, the conviction was upheld on appeal and Joyce was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.[1]
In October, 2011, it was announced that Joyce is now suing Erie Insurance and State Farm, claiming the companies defrauded him.[2]