WriteTheUS

District Court · Third Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.

The bench

Who sits on this court?

Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.

Judges currently in service
JudgeSinceNominated bySeat
Yvette Kane Senior1998William J. ClintonPAMD0503
Robert David Mariani Senior2011Barack ObamaPAMD0305
Matthew William Brann2012Barack ObamaPAMD0802
Malachy Edward Mannion Senior2012Barack ObamaPAMD0603
Jennifer Philpott Wilson2019Donald J. TrumpPAMD0504
Julia Kathleen Munley2023Joseph R. BidenPAMD0306
Karoline Mehalchick2024Joseph R. BidenPAMD0108
Joseph Francis Saporito Jr.2024Joseph R. BidenPAMD0604
Keli Marie Neary2024Joseph R. BidenPAMD0703

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)

What seats does this court have?

Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.

Judges seated now
9
Seat numbers on record
29
Seats with a sitting judge
SeatHeld bySinceHolders to date
PAMD0108Karoline Mehalchick20241
PAMD0305Robert David Mariani20111
PAMD0306Julia Kathleen Munley20231
PAMD0503Yvette Kane19981
PAMD0504Jennifer Philpott Wilson20191
PAMD0603Malachy Edward Mannion20121
PAMD0604Joseph Francis Saporito Jr.20241
PAMD0703Keli Marie Neary20251
PAMD0802Matthew William Brann20121
20 seat numbers with no sitting judge

These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.

SeatLast held byUntilHolders
PAMD0101Robert Wodrow Archbald19111
PAMD0102Charles B. Witmer19251
PAMD0103Albert Williams Johnson19451
PAMD0104John William Murphy19621
PAMD0105William Joseph Nealon Jr.20181
PAMD0106James Focht McClure Jr.20101
PAMD0107John E. Jones III20211
PAMD0201Albert Leisenring Watson19601
PAMD0301Frederick Voris Follmer19711
PAMD0302Robert Dixon Herman19901
PAMD0303William W. Caldwell20191
PAMD0304James Martin Munley20201
PAMD0401Michael Henry Sheridan19761
PAMD0501Malcolm Muir20111
PAMD0502Edwin Michael Kosik20191
PAMD0601Richard Paul Conaboy20181
PAMD0602A. Richard Caputo20201
PAMD0701Sylvia H. Rambo20241
PAMD0702Christopher C. Conner20251
PAMD0801Thomas Ignatius Vanaskie20101

This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.

Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)

How this bench was built

Who appointed them?

The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.

Democratic
8
Republican
1
Sitting judges by appointing president
PresidentJudges
Joseph R. Biden4
Barack Obama3
William J. Clinton1
Donald J. Trump1

The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.

Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)