United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Last updated
United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
(W.D. Pa.)
Pennsylvania-western.gif
Western District of Pennsylvania (map).svg
Western District in green
Location Joseph F. Weis, Jr. U.S. Courthouse
(Pittsburgh)
More locations
Appeals to Third Circuit
EstablishedApril 20, 1818
Judges10
Chief Judge Mark R. Hornak
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan
U.S. Marshal Michael Baughman
PaWD.uscourts.gov
Federal Courthouse, Erie, Pennsylvania Usch erie.jpg
Federal Courthouse, Erie, Pennsylvania
Federal Courthouse, Pittsburgh USPS 15222 Pittsb Grant St sun jeh.jpg
Federal Courthouse, Pittsburgh

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, W.D. Pa.) is a federal trial court that sits in Pittsburgh, Erie, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is composed of ten judges as authorized by federal law. Appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

Contents

History

The United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1  Stat.   73, on September 24, 1789. [1] [2] It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by 3  Stat.   462, [1] [2] into the Eastern and Western Districts to be headquartered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, respectively. [1] The court began its first session on December 7, 1818 at the Old County Courthouse in Pittsburgh. [3] Portions of these districts were subsequently subdivided into the Middle District on March 2, 1901, by 31 Stat. 880. [2] At the time of its initial subdivision, presiding judge Richard Peters Jr. was reassigned to only the Eastern District. This made it possible for President James Monroe to appoint Jonathan Hoge Walker as the first judge of the Western District of Pennsylvania.

The Erie courthouse and division was split from Pittsburgh for initial actions in January 1867, with the Johnstown courthouse and division being split from Pittsburgh for initial actions in 1989. [3]

Current judges

As of May 30,2025:

#TitleJudgeDuty stationBornTerm of serviceAppointed by
Active Chief Senior
56Chief Judge Mark R. Hornak Pittsburgh 19562011–present2018–present— Obama
57District Judge Cathy Bissoon Pittsburgh 19682011–present—— Obama
58District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter Erie 19562018–present—— Trump
59District Judge Marilyn Horan Pittsburgh 19542018–present—— Trump
61District Judge Nicholas Ranjan Pittsburgh 19782019–present—— Trump
62District Judge William S. Stickman IV Pittsburgh 19792019–present—— Trump
63District Judge Stephanie L. Haines Johnstown 19692019–present—— Trump
64District Judge Robert J. Colville Pittsburgh 19652019–present—— Trump
65District Judge W. Scott Hardy Pittsburgh 19712020–present—— Trump
66District Judge Christy C. Wiegand Pittsburgh 19752020–present—— Trump
45Senior Judge Donetta Ambrose inactive19451993–20102002–20092010–present Clinton
49Senior Judge Joy Flowers Conti Pittsburgh 19482002–20182013–20182018–present G.W. Bush
50Senior Judge David S. Cercone Pittsburgh
Erie 		19522002–2017—2017–present G.W. Bush
52Senior Judge Arthur J. Schwab Pittsburgh 19462002–2018—2018–present G.W. Bush
55Senior Judge Nora Barry Fischer Pittsburgh 19512007–2019—2019–present G.W. Bush

Former judges

#JudgeStateBorn–diedActive service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed byReason for
termination
1 Jonathan Hoge Walker PA 1754–18241818–1824—— Monroe death
2 William Wilkins PA 1779–18651824–1831—— Monroe resignation
3 Thomas Irwin PA 1785–18701831–1859 [Note 1] —— Jackson resignation
4 Wilson McCandless PA 1810–18821859–1876—— Buchanan retirement
5 Winthrop Welles Ketcham PA 1820–18791876–1879—— Grant death
6 Marcus Wilson Acheson PA 1828–19061880–1891—— Hayes elevation to 3d Cir.
7 James Hay Reed PA 1853–19271891–1892—— B. Harrison resignation
8 Joseph Buffington PA 1855–19471892–1906—— B. Harrison elevation to 3d Cir.
9 Nathaniel Ewing PA 1848–19141906–1908 [Note 2] —— T. Roosevelt resignation
10 James Scott Young PA 1848–19141908–1914—— T. Roosevelt death
11 Charles Prentiss Orr PA 1858–19221909–1922—— Taft death
12 W. H. Seward Thomson PA 1856–19321914–1928—1928–1932 Wilson death
13 Robert Murray Gibson PA 1869–19491922–19491948–19491949–1949 Harding death
14 Frederic Palen Schoonmaker PA 1870–19451922–1945—— Harding death
15 Nelson McVicar PA 1871–19601928–1951 [Note 3] 1949–19511951–1960 Coolidge death
16 Wallace Samuel Gourley PA 1904–19761945–19691951–19691969–1976 Truman death
17 Frederick Voris Follmer PA 1885–19711946–1955 [Note 4] —— Truman seat abolished
18 Owen McIntosh Burns PA 1892–19521949–1952 [Note 5] —— Truman death
19 Rabe Ferguson Marsh Jr. PA 1905–19931950–19771969–19751977–1993 Truman death
20 William Alvah Stewart PA 1903–19531951–1953—— Truman death
21 Joseph Putnam Willson PA 1902–19981953–1968—1968–1998 Eisenhower death
22 John Lester Miller PA 1901–19781954–1971—1971–1978 Eisenhower death
23 John Wilson McIlvaine PA 1907–19631955–1963—— Eisenhower death
24 Herbert Peter Sorg PA 1911–19791955–19761975–19761976–1979 Eisenhower death
25 Edward Dumbauld PA 1905–19971961–1976—1976–1997 Kennedy death
26 Louis Rosenberg PA 1898–19991961–1976 [Note 6] —1976–1999 Kennedy death
27 Gerald Joseph Weber PA 1914–19891964–19881976–19821988–1989 L. Johnson death
28 Joseph F. Weis Jr. PA 1923–20141970–1973—— Nixon elevation to 3d Cir.
29 William W. Knox PA 1911–19811970–1981—— Nixon death
30 Hubert Irving Teitelbaum PA 1915–19951970–19851982–19851985–1995 Nixon death
31 Barron Patterson McCune PA 1915–20081970–1985—1985–2008 Nixon death
32 Ralph Francis Scalera PA 1930–20111971–1976—— Nixon resignation
33 Daniel John Snyder Jr. PA 1916–19801973–1980—— Nixon death
34 Maurice Blanchard Cohill Jr. PA 1929–20221976–19941985–19921994–2022 Ford death
35 Paul Allen Simmons PA 1921–20141978–1990—1990–2014 Carter death
36 Gustave Diamond PA 1928–20211978–19941992–19941994–2021 Carter death
37 Donald Emil Ziegler PA 1936–20191978–20011994–20012001–2003 Carter retirement
38 Alan N. Bloch PA 1932–20241979–1997—1997–2024 Carter death
39 Carol Los Mansmann PA 1942–20021982–1985—— Reagan elevation to 3d Cir.
40 Glenn Everell Mencer PA 1925–20071982–1994—1994–2007 Reagan death
41 William Lloyd Standish PA 1930–20151987–2002—2002–2015 Reagan death
42 D. Brooks Smith PA 1951–present1988–20022001–2002— Reagan elevation to 3d Cir.
43 Donald J. Lee PA 1927–20111990–2000—2000–2011 G.H.W. Bush death
44 Timothy K. Lewis PA 1954–present1991–1992—— G.H.W. Bush elevation to 3d Cir.
46 Gary L. Lancaster PA 1949–20131993–20132009–2013— Clinton death
47 Robert J. Cindrich PA 1943–present1994–2004—— Clinton resignation
48 Sean J. McLaughlin PA 1955–present1994–20132013— Clinton resignation
51 Terrence F. McVerry PA 1943–20212002–2013—2013–2021 G.W. Bush death
53 Kim R. Gibson PA 1948–20252003–2016—2016–2025 G.W. Bush death
54 Thomas Hardiman PA 1965–present2003–2007—— G.W. Bush elevation to 3d Cir.
60 Peter J. Phipps PA 1973–present2018–2019—— Trump elevation to 3d Cir.
  1. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 7, 1831, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 21, 1832, and received commission the same day.
  2. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 3, 1906, confirmed by the Senate on December 11, 1906, and received commission the same day.
  3. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1928, confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 1928, and received commission the same day.
  4. ↑ Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania
  5. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on March 8, 1950, and received commission on March 9, 1950.
  6. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the Senate on July 10, 1962, and received commission on July 12, 1962.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

United States attorneys

United States attorneys for the district have included: [4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 388.
  2. 1 2 3 U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center .
  3. 1 2 "Untitled Document". www.pawd.uscourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "About The Office – USAO-WDPA – Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Beaver County Times – Google News Archive Search" . Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  6. ↑ "PN1299 – Nomination of Cindy K. Chung for Department of Justice, 117th Congress (2021–2022)". www.congress.gov. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  7. ↑ "Troy Rivetti to Serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania" (Press release). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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