United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Middle District of Pennsylvania
Third Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 6
Judges: 6
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Matthew Brann
Active judges: Matthew Brann, Karoline Mehalchick, Julia Munley, Keli Neary, Jennifer Philpott Wilson, Joseph Saporito Senior judges: Yvette Kane, Malachy Mannion, Robert David Mariani

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is one of 94 United States district courts. The court operates out of Scranton, Pennsylvania. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit based in downtown Philadelphia at the James Byrne Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, out of the court's six judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Matthew Brann	Barack Obama (D)	December 27, 2012 -	University of Notre Dame, 1987	Dickinson School of Law, 1990
Jennifer Philpott Wilson	Donald Trump (R)	November 8, 2019 -	Swarthmore College, 1997	Brooklyn Law School, 2001
Julia Munley	Joe Biden (D)	November 7, 2023 -	Marywood College, 1987	Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law, 1992
Karoline Mehalchick	Joe Biden (D)	February 5, 2024 -	Pennsylvania State University, 1998	Tulane University School of Law, 2001
Joseph Saporito	Joe Biden (D)	August 13, 2024 -	Villanova University, 1982	Dickinson School of Law, 1985
Keli Neary	Joe Biden (D)	January 17, 2025 -	University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, 2003	Widener University Commonwealth Law School, 2006

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 5
• Republican appointed: 1

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Yvette Kane	Bill Clinton (D)	October 11, 2018 -	Nicholls State University, 1973	Tulane University Law School, 1976
Robert David Mariani	Barack Obama (D)	September 30, 2022 -	Villanova University, 1972	Syracuse University College of Law, 1976
Malachy Mannion	Barack Obama (D)	December 27, 2023 -	University of Scranton, 1976	Pace University School of Law, 1979

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 3
• Republican appointed: 0

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
William Arbuckle		July 29, 2008 -	Grove City College, 1971	University of Akron School of Law, 1974
Martin C. Carlson		August 15, 2009 -	Pennsylvania State University, 1977	University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1980
Susan E. Schwab		December 3, 2012 -	Wilkes University, 1981	Widener University School of Law, 1992

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

John E. Jones - (2020 - 2021) Christopher Conner - (2013 - 2020) Yvette Kane - (2006 - 2013) Thomas Vanaskie - (1999 - 2006) Sylvia Rambo - (1992-1999) Richard Conaboy - (1989 - 1992) William Nealon - (1976 - 1989) Michael Sheridan - (1962 - 1976)

Frederick Follmer - (1962) John William Murphy - (1955 - 1962) Albert Leisenring Watson - (1948 - 1955)

Former judges

For more information on the judges of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, see former federal judges of the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Jurisdiction

Pennsylvania counties (click for larger map)

The Middle District of Pennsylvania has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Middle District of Pennsylvania consists of approximately one-half of Pennsylvania. The following counties form the Middle District:

• Adams County
• Bradford County
• Cameron County
• Carbon County
• Centre County
• Clinton County
• Columbia County
• Cumberland County
• Dauphin County
• Franklin County
• Fulton County
• Huntingdon County
• Juniata County
• Lackawanna County
• Lebanon County
• Luzerne County
• Lycoming County
• Mifflin County
• Monroe County
• Montour County
• Northumberland County
• Perry County
• Pike County
• Potter County
• Schuylkill County
• Snyder County,
• Sullivan County
• Susquehanna County
• Tioga County
• Union County
• Wayne County
• Wyoming County
• York County

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	3,467	3,341	3,114	6	32	578	26	11	6	116	5
2011	2,964	2,966	2,782	6	34	494	26	13	7	212	9
2012	3,305	2,977	3,407	6	24	551	27	13	8	234	9
2013	3,770	3,569	3,588	6	0	628	27	14	7	229	8
2014	3,179	3,335	3,412	6	0	530	22	11	10	189	7
2015	3,067	2,982	3,477	6	0	511	20	13	9	219	8
2016	3,276	2,945	3,807	6	0	546	25	14	9	229	8
2017	3,130	3,036	3,898	6	0	522	28	13	10	229	8
2018	3,162	3,057	4,010	6	3	527	27	14	10	239	8
2019	2,871	3,160	3,695	6	10	479	20	17	11	266	10
2020	3,044	2,769	3,980	6	0	507	18	22	11	298	10
2021	2,817	2,863	3,955	6	5	470	25	23	10	305	11
2022	2,713	2,952	3,753	6	15	452	26	22	13	285	11
2023	2,728	2,827	3,638	6	24	455	22	21	11	276	11
Average	3,107	3,056	3,608	6	11	518	24	16	9	238	9

History

The District of Pennsylvania was established by Congress on September 24, 1789, with one post to cover the entire state. On April 20, 1818, Congress divided the district into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Western District of Pennsylvania with one post each. On March 2, 1901, Congress again redefined the boundaries of the district, transitioning a portion of both districts to the newly formed Middle District of Pennsylvania. Over time, five additional judicial posts were added to the Middle District of Pennsylvania for a total of six current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73	1 (Whole state)
March 2, 1901	31 Stat. 880	1
February 28, 1929	45 Stat. 1344	2
July 24, 1946	60 Stat. 654	3(1 shared temporary)
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	2
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	3
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	4(1 Temporary)
1976	Post Expired	3
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	5
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	6

Federal courthouse

There are four federal courthouses that serve the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

• William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton
• Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Harrisburg
• Herman T. Schneebeli Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Williamsport
• Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through March 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.