United States federal district court in Pennsylvania
Federal Courthouse , Erie, Pennsylvania 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 ).
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]
As of January 1, 2022[update] :
^ Recess appointment ; formally nominated on December 7, 1831, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 21, 1832, and received commission the same day. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 3, 1906, confirmed by the Senate on December 11, 1906, and received commission the same day. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1928, confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 1928, and received commission the same day. ^ Jointly appointed to the Eastern , Middle , and Western Districts of Pennsylvania ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on March 8, 1950, and received commission on March 9, 1950. ^ 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 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 [ edit ] Seat 3 Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary) Seat made permanent on August 19, 1935 by 49 Stat. 659 Schoonmaker 1922–1945 Gourley 1945–1969 Teitelbaum 1970–1985 Lee 1990–2000 Cercone 2002–2017 Haines 2019–present
Seat 4 Seat established on July 24, 1946 by 60 Stat. 654 (temporary, concurrent with Middle and Eastern Districts) Seat made permanent on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 Follmer 1946–1955 Seat statutorily assigned solely to the Middle District on June 1, 1955
Seat 7 Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 (temporary) Seat made permanent on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Sorg 1955–1976 Bloch 1979–1997 Conti 2002–2018 Stickman IV 2019–present
United States attorneys [ edit ] United States attorneys for the district have included:[ 4]
James Hamilton March 11, 1801 Andrew Stewart April 20, 1818 Alexander Brackenridge March 3, 1821 George W. Buchanan October 22, 1830 Benjamin Patton Jr. October 22, 1832 John P. Anderson June 12, 1839 Cornelius Darragh March 25, 1841 William O'Hara Robinson March 29, 1844 John L. Dawson July 22, 1845 J. Bowman Sweitzer August 27, 1850 Charles Shaler April 19, 1853 Richard Biddle Roberts April 21, 1857 Robert B. Carnahan April 12, 1861 Henry B. Swope January 24, 1870 David Reed March 24, 1874 Henry H. McCormick June 29, 1876 William A. Stone July 6, 1880 George A. Allen December 4, 1886 Walter Lyon June 21, 1889 Stephen C. McCandless April 26, 1893 Harry Alvan Hall June 8, 1893 B. Heiner September 14, 1897 James S. Young February 10, 1902 John W. Dunkle March 17, 1905 John H. Jordan April 15, 1909 Edwin Lowry Humes September 10, 1913 R. Lindsay Crawford September 2, 1918 Edwin Lowry Humes August 20, 1919 Robert J. Dodds June 1, 1920 D. J. Driscoll August 19, 1920 Walter Lyon March 11, 1921 John D. Meyer July 18, 1925 Louis Edward Graham October 31, 1929 Horatio S. Dumbauld August 17, 1933 Charles F. Uhl May 12, 1941 Owen McIntosh Burns May 16, 1947 Edward C. Boyle November 3, 1949 John W. McIlvaine July 16, 1953 D. Malcolm Anderson Jr. August 19, 1955 Hubert I. Teitelbaum March 17, 1958 Joseph S. Ammerman June 5, 1961 Gustave Diamond February 2, 1963 Richard L. Thornburgh June 4, 1969 Blair A. Griffith July 7, 1975 Robert J. Cindrich September 29, 1978 J. Alan Johnson July 31, 1981 Charles D. Sheehy January 15, 1989 Thomas W. Corbett November 30, 1989 Frederick W. Thieman August 16, 1993[ 5] Linda L. Kelly August 1, 1997 Harry Litman October 22, 1998 Linda L. Kelly April 28, 2001 Mary Beth Buchanan – September 18, 2001 Robert S. Cessar – November 17, 2009 David J. Hickton – August 12, 2010 Soo C. Song (acting) – November 29, 2016 Scott Brady – December 22, 2017 Cindy Chung – November 2021[ 6] Troy Rivetti (acting) – February 17, 2023[ 7] Eric G. Olshan – June 12, 2023
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