--- title: "Christy Criswell Wiegand | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christy-criswell-wiegand" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Christy Criswell Wiegand 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 statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, PA, 2020-present - U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania, appointed on September 11, 2020, by President Donald Trump - Assistant U.S. Attorney, Criminal Division's Major Crimes Unit, United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 2018-2020 - Professional Responsibility Officer, United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 2007-2020 - Deputy Chief of the Office's Civil Division, United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 2013-2018 - Assistant U.S. Attorney, Civil Division, United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 2004-2018 - Clerk to the Hon. D. Brooks Smith, Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Duncansville, PA, 2002-2003 - Antitrust and Trade Litigation Associate, Arnold & Porter (now: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholar), Washington, DC, 2000-2002 - Judge Wiegand’s chamber follows the Western District’s local rules, with specific procedures for motions, remote conferences, and alternative dispute resolution ### Education - cum laude — Cornell University — 2000 - cum laude — Princeton University — 1997 - Cornell Law School ### Additional information - Project Safe Childhood Task Force Member, United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA, 2018-2020 - Instructor, University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus, Pittsburgh, PA, 2013-2013 - Date of birth: 1975-01-01 - Birth place: Pittsburgh, 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/8865281) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8865281) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8865281) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15351/christy-chriswell-wiegand/) - [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/15351/christy-chriswell-wiegand/) - [Wikidata: Christy C. Wiegand](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q84432281) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christy-criswell-wiegand", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christy-criswell-wiegand", "name": "Christy Criswell Wiegand | KnowJudges", "description": "Christy Criswell Wiegand, 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.