United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The court is under the jurisdiction of 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).

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(M.D. Pa.)
Location	Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse (Harrisburg) More locations William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Scranton) Williamsport Wilkes-Barre Lewisburg
Appeals to	Third Circuit
Established	March 2, 1901
Judges	6
Chief Judge	Matthew W. Brann
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Gerard Karam
U.S. Marshal	William M. Pugh
www.pamd.uscourts.gov

Because Harrisburg, the state capital, is located within the district's jurisdiction, most federal suits against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are filed in the Middle District. Similarly, because York County Prison served as the largest Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) facility in the Northeast, the Middle District also adjudicated many immigration cases. The courts of appeal are now responsible for most judicial review of immigration decisions, bypassing the Middle District and other district courts.

Judge Matthew W. Brann is the chief judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; William M. Pugh is the United States marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. As of June 21, 2022^[update], the U.S. attorney is Gerard Karam.

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, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789. It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by 3 Stat. 462, 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 31 Stat. 880.

Current judges

As of January 17, 2025^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
24	Chief Judge	Matthew W. Brann	Williamsport	1965	2012–present	2021–present	—	Obama
25	District Judge	Jennifer P. Wilson	Harrisburg	1975	2019–present	—	—	Trump
26	District Judge	Julia K. Munley	Scranton	1965	2023–present	—	—	Biden
27	District Judge	Karoline Mehalchick	Scranton	1976	2024–present	—	—	Biden
28	District Judge	Joseph F. Saporito Jr.	Wilkes-Barre	1960	2024–present	—	—	Biden
29	District Judge	Keli M. Neary	Harrisburg	1981	2025–present	—	—	Biden
18	Senior Judge	Yvette Kane	Harrisburg	1953	1998–2018	2006–2013	2018–present	Clinton
22	Senior Judge	Robert D. Mariani	Scranton	1950	2011–2022	—	2022–present	Obama
23	Senior Judge	Malachy E. Mannion	Scranton	1953	2012–2024	—	2024–present	Obama

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Robert W. Archbald	PA	1848–1926	1901–1911	—	—	McKinley	elevation to 3d Cir.
2	Charles B. Witmer	PA	1862–1925	1911–1925	—	—	Taft	death
3	Albert Williams Johnson	PA	1872–1957	1925–1945	—	—	Coolidge	resignation
4	Albert Leisenring Watson	PA	1876–1960	1929–1955	1948–1955	1955–1960	Hoover	death
5	John W. Murphy	PA	1902–1962	1946–1962	1955–1962	—	Truman	death
6	Frederick Voris Follmer	PA	1885–1971	1946–1967	1962	1967–1971	Truman	death
7	Michael Henry Sheridan	PA	1912–1976	1961–1976	1962–1976	—	Kennedy	death
8	William Joseph Nealon Jr.	PA	1923–2018	1962–1989	1976–1989	1989–2018	Kennedy	death
9	Robert Dixon Herman	PA	1911–1990	1969–1981	—	1981–1990	Nixon	death
10	Malcolm Muir	PA	1914–2011	1970–1984	—	1984–2011	Nixon	death
11	Richard Paul Conaboy	PA	1925–2018	1979–1992	1989–1992	1992–2018	Carter	death
12	Sylvia Rambo	PA	1936–2024	1979–2001	1992–1999	2001–2024	Carter	retirement
13	William W. Caldwell	PA	1925–2019	1982–1994	—	1994–2019	Reagan	death
14	Edwin Michael Kosik	PA	1925–2019	1986–1996	—	1996–2019	Reagan	death
15	James Focht McClure Jr.	PA	1931–2010	1990–2001	—	2001–2010	G.H.W. Bush	death
16	Thomas I. Vanaskie	PA	1953–present	1994–2010	1999–2006	—	Clinton	elevation to 3d Cir.
17	A. Richard Caputo	PA	1938–2020	1997–2009	—	2009–2020	Clinton	death
19	James Martin Munley	PA	1936–2020	1998–2009	—	2009–2020	Clinton	death
20	Christopher C. Conner	PA	1957–present	2002–2025	2013–2020	—	G.W. Bush	retirement
21	John E. Jones III	PA	1955–present	2002–2021	2020–2021	—	G.W. Bush	retirement

1. From 1946 to 1955 Judge Follmer was jointly appointed to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1963, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 15, 1963, and received commission on March 27, 1963.

Chief judges

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

Seat 1 Seat established on March 2, 1901 by 31 Stat. 880 Archbald 1901–1911 Witmer 1911–1925 Johnson 1925–1945 Murphy 1946–1962 Nealon, Jr. 1963–1989 McClure, Jr. 1990–2001 Jones III 2002–2021 Mehalchick 2024–present

Seat 2 Seat established on February 28, 1929 by 45 Stat. 1344 Watson 1929–1955 Seat abolished on May 31, 1955 pursuant to 68 Stat. 8

Seat 3 Seat established on July 24, 1946 by 60 Stat. 654 (temporary) (concurrent with Eastern and Western districts) Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 2 on May 31, 1955 Seat reassigned solely to the Middle District on June 1, 1955 Follmer 1946–1967 Herman 1969–1981 Caldwell II 1982–1994 J.M. Munley 1998–2009 Mariani 2011–2022 J.K. Munley 2023–present

Seat 4 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Sheridan 1961–1976 Seat abolished on August 23, 1976 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 5 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 (temporary) Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 4 on August 23, 1976 Muir 1970–1984 Kosik 1986–1996 Kane 1998–2018 Wilson 2019–present

Seat 6 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Conaboy 1979–1992 Caputo 1997–2009 Mannion 2012–2024 Saporito Jr. 2024–present

Seat 7 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Rambo 1979–2001 Conner 2002–2025 Neary 2025–present

Seat 8 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Vanaskie 1994–2010 Brann 2012–present

Notable cases

• Donald J. Trump for President v. Boockvar, et al., 502 F. Supp. 3d 899 (M.D. Pa. 2020) (affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in a non-precedential opinion, No. 20-3371 (November 2020)).
• Irvis v. Scott, 318 F. Supp. 1246 (M.D. Pa. 1970) (affirmed by the US Supreme court in 1972 as Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis, 407 U.S. 163 (1972))
• Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
• Lozano et al. v. City of Hazleton, M.D. Pa. No. 3:06-cv-01586-JMM (2006) (affirmed in part by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 07-3531 (September 9, 2010)).
• Whitewood v. Wolf This case struck down Pennsylvania's statutory ban on same-sex marriage on May 20, 2014. This was not appealed to the Third Circuit.

List of U.S. attorneys

The people in the district are represented by the United States attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

• Samuel McCarrell (1901–1908)
• Charles B. Witmer (1908–1911)
• Andrew B. Dunsmore (1911–1914)
• Rogers L. Burnett (1914–1921)
• Andrew B. Dunsmore (1921–1934)
• Frank J. McDonnell (1934–1935)
• Frederick V. Follmer (1935–1946)
• Arthur A. Maguire (1946–1953)
• Joseph C. Kreder (1953)
• Julius Levy (1953–1957)
• Robert J. Hourigan (1957–1958)
• Daniel Jenkins (1958–1961)
• Bernard J. Brown (1961–1969)
• John Cottone (1969–1979)
• Carlon M. O'Malley Jr. (1979–1982)
• David Dart Queen (1982–1985)
• (1985–1993)
• Wayne P. Samuelson (1993)
• David Barasch (1993–2001)
• Martin Carlson (2001–2002)
• Tom Marino (2002–2007)
• Martin Carlson (2007–2009)
• Dennis Pfannenschmidt (2009–2010)
• Peter J. Smith (2010–2016)
• Bruce D. Brandler (2016–2017)
• David Freed (2017–2020)
• Bruce D. Brandler (2021–2022)
• Gerard Karam (2022–present)

Courthouses

Within the Middle District, federal courthouses are located in:

• Harrisburg – Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse
• Scranton – William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse
• Williamsport – Herman T. Schneebeli Federal Building and Courthouse
• Wilkes-Barre – Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse

• The Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, PA
• The Herman T. Schneebeli Federal Building and Courthouse in Williamsport, Lycoming County, PA

Counties of jurisdiction

The Court's jurisdiction includes the following counties:

• 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

See also

• Courts of Pennsylvania
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Pennsylvania

References

1. "Gerard M. Karam Sworn In As U.S. Attorney For The Middle District Of Pennsylvania" (Press release). Scranton, Pennsylvania: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
2. Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 388.
3. U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
4. "Listing of U.S. Attorneys | USAO-MDPA | Department of Justice". justice.gov. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-02.

External links

• Official website