United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Updated on Nov 10, 2023

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Appeals to Third Circuit Judges assigned 6		Established March 2, 1901 Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is 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).

Because Harrisburg, the state capital, is located within the district's jurisdiction, most 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 a large number of 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 Christopher C. Conner is the Chief Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Martin John Pane is the United States Marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

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.

Notable cases

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District

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.

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)).

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)

James J. West (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–present) Interim Attorney

Courthouses

Within the Middle District, federal courthouses are located in:

Harrisburg – Ronald Reagan Federal Building and 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

Counties of jurisdiction

The Court's jurisdiction includes the following counties:

References

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Wikipedia

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