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 The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Sec ...

. It originally sat in

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

as the

United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

, and is now located at the James Byrne Courthouse at 601 Market Street in Philadelphia. There are Eastern District federal courtrooms in

, Lancaster, Allentown,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

, and Easton. The Court's jurisdiction includes

, as well as Berks, Bucks,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton counties. The district is a part of the

Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * Eas ...

, and appeals are taken to that Circuit (except for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

). The chief judge for the Eastern Pennsylvania District Court is Juan Ramon Sánchez. The people in the district are represented by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. , the U.S. Attorney is Jacqueline C. Romero.

History

The

was one of the original 13 courts established by the

, , on September 24, 1789.Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 388.U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, Legislative history
''

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of respo ...

''. It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by , into the Eastern and Western Districts to be headquartered in

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, 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

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

List of U.S. Attorneys

* William Lewis (1789–1791) *

William Rawle William Rawle (April 28, 1759 – April 12, 1836) was an American lawyer in Philadelphia, who in 1791 was appointed as United States district attorney in Pennsylvania. He was a founder and first president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania ...

(1791–1799) *

Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He ...

(1800–1801) * Alexander Dallas (1801–1814) * Charles Jared Ingersoll (1815–1829) * George M. Dallas (1829–1831) *

Henry D. Gilpin Henry Dilworth Gilpin (April 14, 1801 – January 29, 1860) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 14th Attorney General of the United States under President Martin Van Buren from 1840 to 1841. He served as the 2nd Solicitor of ...

(1831–1837) *

John M. Read John Meredith Read Sr. (July 21, 1797 – November 29, 1874) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. ...

(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 James Montgomery Beck (July 9, 1861 – April 12, 1936) was an American lawyer, politician, and author from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Solicitor General and U.S. Representative from ...

(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–present)

Notes

External links

Official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 1818 establishments in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, Eastern District Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Pennsylvania law Government of Philadelphia Allentown, Pennsylvania Reading, Pennsylvania Easton, Pennsylvania Courthouses in Pennsylvania Courts and tribunals established in 1818