Surf Wiki
Save to docs
law

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

United States federal district court in Pennsylvania

United States federal district court in Pennsylvania

FieldValue
court_typedistrict
court_nameUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
abbreviationE.D. Pa.
sealSeal of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.png
seal_size150
map_image_nameEastern District of Pennsylvania (map).svg
map_image_width200
courthouseJames A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse
locationPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
location1Allentown
location2Reading
location3Easton
appeals_toThird Circuit
establishedApril 20, 1818
judges_assigned22
chiefWendy Beetlestone
us_attorneyDavid Metcalf
us_marshalEric S. Gartner
official_site

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philadelphia as the United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, and is now located at the James Byrne Courthouse at 601 Market Street in Philadelphia. There are four Eastern District federal courtrooms in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Allentown, Reading, and Easton.

The Court's jurisdiction includes nine counties in eastern Pennsylvania: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia counties. The district is a part of the Third Circuit. Appeals are taken to that Circuit, except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit.

The chief judge for the Eastern Pennsylvania District Court is Wendy Beetlestone.

The United States attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania represents the people in the district. On June 24, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania appointed David Metcalf as the United States Attorney for the district; this came 120 days after Attorney General Pamela Bondi appointed Metcalf to serve as interim United States Attorney on March 10, 2025.

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, , on September 24, 1789. It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by , into the Eastern and Western Districts to be headquartered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, respectively. Portions of these districts were subsequently subdivided into the Middle District on March 2, 1901, by . At the time of its initial subdivision, presiding judge Richard Peters Jr. was reassigned to only the Eastern District.

Current judges

: Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia

Vacancies and pending nominations

SeatPrior judge's duty stationSeat last held byVacancy reasonDate of vacancyNomineeDate of nomination
25PhiladelphiaMitchell S. GoldbergRetirementSeptember 19, 2025

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

List of U.S. attorneys

  • William Lewis (1789–1791)
  • William Rawle (1791–1799)
  • Jared Ingersoll (1800–1801)
  • Alexander Dallas (1801–1814)
  • Charles Jared Ingersoll (1815–1829)
  • George M. Dallas (1829–1831)
  • Henry D. Gilpin (1831–1837)
  • John M. Read (1837–1841)
  • William M. Meredith (1841–1842)
  • Henry M. Watts (1842–1845)
  • Thomas M. Pettit (1845–1849)
  • John W. Ashmead (1849–1854)
  • James C. Van Dyke (1854–1857)
  • George M. Wharton (1857–1860)
  • George A. Coffey (1861–1864)
  • Charles Gilpin (1864–1868)
  • John P. O'Neil (1868–1869)
  • Aubrey H. Smith (1869–1873)
  • William McMichael (1873–1875)
  • John K. Valentine (1875–1888)
  • John R. Read (1888–1892)
  • Ellery P. Ingham (1892–1896)
  • James M. Beck (1896–1900)
  • James Buchanan Holland (1900–1904)
  • Joseph Whitaker Thompson (1904–1912)
  • John C. Smartley (1912–1913)
  • Francis F. Kane (1913–1919)
  • Charles D. McAvoy (1920–1921)
  • George W. Coles (1921–1929)
  • Calvin S. Boyer (1929–1930)
  • Howard B. Lewis (Acting) (1931)
  • Edward W. Wells (1931–1933)
  • Charles D. McAvoy (Second Time) (1933–1937)
  • Guy K. Bard (Acting) (1937)
  • James Cullen Ganey (1937–1940)
  • Edward A. Kallick (Acting) (1940)
  • Gerald A. Gleeson (1940–1953)
  • Joseph G. Hildenberger (Acting) (1953)
  • W. Wilson White (1953–1957)
  • G. Clinton Fogwell, Jr. (Acting) (1957)
  • Harold Kenneth Wood (1957–1959)
  • Joseph Leo McGlynn, Jr. (Acting) (1959)
  • Walter E. Alessandroni (1959–1961)
  • Joseph Simon Lord III (1961)
  • Drew J. T. O'Keefe (1961–1969)
  • Louis C. Bechtle (1969–1972)
  • Carl Joseph Melone (Acting) (1972)
  • Robert E. J. Curran (1972–1976)
  • Jonas Clayton Undercofler III (Acting) (1976)
  • David W. Marston (1976–1978)
  • Robert N. DeLuca (Acting) (1978)
  • Peter F. Vaira, Jr. (1978–1983)
  • Edward S. G. Dennis, Jr. (1983–1988)
  • Michael M. Baylson (1988–1993)
  • Michael J. Rotko (Acting) (1993)
  • Michael R. Stiles (1993–2001)
  • Michael L. Levy (Acting) (2001)
  • Pat Meehan (2001–2008)
  • Laurie Magid (Acting) (2008–2009)
  • Michael L. Levy (Acting, Second Time) (2009–2010)
  • Zane David Memeger (2010–2016)
  • Louis D. Lappen (Acting) (2016–2018)
  • William M. McSwain (2018–2021)
  • Jennifer Arbittier Williams (Acting) (2021–2022)
  • Jacqueline C. Romero (2022–2025)
  • David Metcalf (2025)

Notes

References

  1. "News & Announcements: 2025 {{!}} Eastern District of Pennsylvania {{!}} United States District Court".
  2. (March 13, 2025). "David Metcalf Appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania". U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  3. Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 388.
  4. [http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district_pa.html U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, Legislative history], ''[[Federal Judicial Center]]''.
  5. "Former U.s. Attorney To Represent Preate Edward Dennis Jr. Was Named As Counsel In The Office Investigation. The Bill Goes To Taxpayers. - philly-archives". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
  6. "History of the Federal Judiciary". fjc.gov.
  7. "Region's U.S. attorney will resign Michael R. Stiles has spent 8 years in the high-profile post. Delco's D.A. is viewed as a possible successor. - philly-archives". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
  8. "Michael Levy".
  9. (May 22, 2009). "Magid out as interim U.S. Attorney in eastern Pa".
  10. (April 15, 2010). "President Obama nominates Zane Memeger to replace Pat Meehan | lehighvalleylive.com". lehighvalleylive.com.
  11. (2021-01-14). "United States Attorney McSwain Announces Resignation".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1818-establishments-in-pennsylvania buildings-and-structures-in-philadelphia government-of-philadelphia allentown,-pennsylvania courthouses-in-pennsylvania courts-and-tribunals-established-in-1818 easton,-pennsylvania lancaster,-pennsylvania pennsylvania-law reading,-pennsylvania united-states-district-courts
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report