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United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

United States federal district court in Pennsylvania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
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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.

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The James A. Byrne United States Courthouse at 601 Market Street in Philadelphia

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;[1] this came 120 days after Attorney General Pamela Bondi appointed Metcalf to serve as interim United States Attorney on March 10, 2025.[2]

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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.[3][4] It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by 3 Stat. 462,[3][4] into the Eastern and Western Districts to be headquartered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, respectively.[3] Portions of these districts were subsequently subdivided into the Middle District on March 2, 1901, by 31 Stat. 880.[4] At the time of its initial subdivision, presiding judge Richard Peters Jr. was reassigned to only the Eastern District.

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Current judges

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As of August 2, 2025:

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  1. By virtue of her seniority of age, Judge Hodge holds seniority over Judge Murphy despite their identical commission dates.
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Former judges

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  1. Reassigned from the District of Pennsylvania.
  2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 11, 1828, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 23, 1829, and received commission the same day.
  3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1939, confirmed by the Senate on March 30, 1939, and received commission on May 4, 1939.
  4. Recess appointment; formally nominated on April 4, 1940, confirmed by the Senate on April 24, 1940, and received commission on April 29, 1940.
  5. Jointly appointed to the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania
  6. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on March 8, 1950, and received commission on March 9, 1950.
  7. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on April 4, 1950, and received commission on April 7, 1950.
  8. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 12, 1956, confirmed by the Senate on March 28, 1956, and received commission on March 29, 1956.
  9. Recess appointment; formally nominated on February 3, 1964, confirmed by the Senate on March 14, 1964, and received commission on March 17, 1964.
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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.

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Succession of seats

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More information Seat 21, Seat 22 ...
More information Seat 25, Seat 26 ...
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List of U.S. attorneys

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See also

Notes

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