United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. federal court

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

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.

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;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> this came 120 days after Attorney General Pamela Bondi appointed Metcalf to serve as interim United States Attorney on March 10, 2025.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

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, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=S388>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 388.</ref><ref name=fjcpa>U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by Template:USStat,<ref name=S388 /><ref name=fjcpa /> into the Eastern and Western Districts to be headquartered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, respectively.<ref name=S388 /> Portions of these districts were subsequently subdivided into the Middle District on March 2, 1901, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcpa /> At the time of its initial subdivision, presiding judge Richard Peters Jr. was reassigned to only the Eastern District.

Current judges

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Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat Prior judge's duty station Seat last held by Vacancy reason Date of vacancy Nominee Date of nomination
25 Philadelphia Mitchell S. Goldberg Retirement September 19, 2025 Template:Sort Template:Sort

Former judges

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Chief judges

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Succession of seats

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List of U.S. attorneys

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  • Michael J. Rotko (Acting) (1993)
  • Michael R. Stiles (1993–2001)<ref name="philly2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Michael L. Levy (Acting) (2001)<ref name="auto1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Pat Meehan (2001–2008)
  • Laurie Magid (Acting) (2008–2009)<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Michael L. Levy (Acting, Second Time) (2009–2010)<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/>
  • Zane David Memeger (2010–2016)<ref name="lehighvalleylive">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Louis D. Lappen (Acting) (2016–2018)
  • William M. McSwain (2018–2021)<ref name="Resignation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jennifer Arbittier Williams (Acting) (2021–2022)<ref name="Resignation" />
  • Jacqueline C. Romero (2022–2025)
  • David Metcalf (2025)

See also

Notes

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