Lawrence Francis Stengel (born August 7, 1952) is a former

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 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 Philad ...

Education and career

Born in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

, Stengel is the son of Lawrence E. Stengel (d. 2006), a lawyer. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

in 1974 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Pittsburgh School of Law The University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law) is the law school of the University of Pittsburgh, a public research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and became a charter member of the Association of American ...

in 1980. He was a teacher at Lancaster Catholic High School from 1974 to 1977. He was in private practice in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

from 1980 to 1984, and in Lancaster from 1985 to 1990. He was a judge on the Lancaster County

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

from 1990 to 2004. He also teaches as an adjunct professor at

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

from 1997 to present, and at

Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the ten schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Educa ...

from 2000 to 2004.

Notable case

As a state judge, Stengel presided over the trial of Lisa Michelle Lambert for the

murder of Laurie Show Laurie Show was a 16-year-old sophomore at Conestoga Valley High School who was stalked by her classmates and murdered on December 20, 1991. Her body was discovered by her mother, Hazel Show, in their Lancaster, Pennsylvania home, with her throa ...

, a noteworthy case in Lancaster County history.

Federal judicial service

On November 6, 2003, Stengel was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to a seat on the

vacated by

Ronald L. Buckwalter Ronald Lawrence Buckwalter (born December 11, 1936) is an inactive Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career ...

. Stengel was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 16, 2004, and received his commission on June 21, 2004. Stengel became Chief Judge of the District on August 1, 2017, and resigned from that position on August 1, 2018. Stengel retired from active service on August 31, 2018, and joined the Saxton and Stump law firm to lead their investigations and mediation group, Optimal Dispute Resolutions.

Personal life

Stengel has been married twice. He has five children. He lives in East Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania; as a federal judge, he commuted to work at the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse in Philadelphia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stengel, Lawrence Francis 1952 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 21st-century American lawyers Franklin & Marshall College faculty Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Lawyers from Pittsburgh People from Lancaster, Pennsylvania Saint Joseph's University alumni United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Pittsburgh School of Law alumni