--- title: "Chad Francis Kenney Sr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/chad-francis-kenney-sr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Chad Francis Kenney Sr. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - State: Pennsylvania - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, 2018-present - Active federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, appointed by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018 - Sheriff of Delaware County (1998–2003) and later Assistant Solicitor for Delaware County From 2003 to 2018, he was a Judge of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, presiding over family, criminal, civil, and orphans’ court cases, and serving as President Judge (2012–2017) - Assistant solicitor, Delaware County, PA, 1996-1997 - Kenney began his legal career in 1980 as a civil litigator, later working in general practice in Delaware County and Philadelphia From 1981–1983, he held the role of a central legal staff lawyer for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania - Current role: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ### Education - Temple University — J.D. (1980) - Villanova University — B.A. (1976) - Temple University Beasley School of Law ### Additional information - Private practice, Haverford, PA, 1981-present - Civil Trial Section, 2017-2018 - Nominated: December 20, 2017, by President Trump for the seat vacated by Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo - civil motion judge, 2011-2012 - Civil Trial Section, 2009-2011 - Criminal Section, 2005-2010 - Domestic Relations Section, 2003-2005 - Private practice, Media, PA, 2000-2003 - Sheriff, Delaware County, PA, 1998-2003 - Private practice, Media, PA, 1998-1999 - Private practice, Media, PA, 1992-1996 - Private practice, Upper Darby, PA, 1989-1992 - Private practice, Philadelphia, PA, 1983-1988 - Private practice, Philadelphia, PA, 1980-1981 - Born August 8, 1955, in Lower Merion/Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. - Date of birth: 1955-01-01 - Birth place: Upper Darby, PA ## 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 ### 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/5375101) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5375101) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5375101) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8590/chad-francis-kenney-sr/) - [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/8590/chad-francis-kenney-sr/) - [Wikidata: Chad F. Kenney](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46445638) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/chad-francis-kenney-sr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/chad-francis-kenney-sr", "name": "Chad Francis Kenney Sr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Chad Francis Kenney Sr., U.S. District Court for the Eastern 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.