--- title: "Cathy Bissoon | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cathy-bissoon" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Cathy Bissoon U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania - State: Pennsylvania - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 2011-present - On December 6, 2025, Bissoon became Chief Judge of the Western District of Pennsylvania - The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and elevated to Chief Judge in December 2025 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, 2008-2011 - Appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 2008, becoming the first woman of color and the first woman of Indian descent on a federal court in the U.S - In 2007, she joined Cohen & Grigsby (now Dentons Cohen & Grigsby) as Director of the Labor & Employment Group - Law clerk, Hon. Gary L. Lancaster, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, 1994-1995 - She also clerked for the late Chief Judge Gary L. Lancaster of the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1994–1995 - She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1993) - Harvard Law School in — J.D. (1993) - She graduated summa cum laude from Alfred University with a BA in political science in 1990 ### Additional information - President Obama nominated her to the U.S. District Court on November 17, 2010; she was confirmed by the Senate on October 17, 2011, and began service on October 19, 2011. - Private practice, Pittsburgh, PA, 1995-2008 - Date of birth: 1968-01-01 - After law school, Bissoon joined Reed Smith’s Pittsburgh office as an associate, later becoming a partner and head of the firm’s Employment Group. - Official site: Western District of Pennsylvania – Cathy Bissoon Western District of Pennsylvania - She held the role of Director of Diversity for six years, earning the Honorable Thurgood Marshall Award for diversity initiatives. - Birth place: Brooklyn, NY ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: plaintiffs or multiple defendants, the “P” or “D” designation should be followed by the party’s surname initial or the first letter of the company’s name. Counsel shall obtain the Court's approval in advance for use of any demonstrative aid(s) during opening statements. Demonstrative aids are permitted during trial absent a sustained objection. [Bissoon_Chamber_Rules_Revised_1_4_19.pdf](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/Bissoon_Chamber_Rules_Revised_1_4_19.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393816) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393816) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393816) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/285/cathy-bissoon/) - [Bissoon_Chamber_Rules_Revised_1_4_19.pdf](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/Bissoon_Chamber_Rules_Revised_1_4_19.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/285/cathy-bissoon/) - [Wikidata: Cathy Bissoon](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5053388) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cathy-bissoon", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/cathy-bissoon", "name": "Cathy Bissoon | KnowJudges", "description": "Cathy Bissoon, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.