--- title: "Gail Allison Weilheimer | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gail-allison-weilheimer" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Gail Allison Weilheimer 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 - Gail Allison Weilheimer (née Zuckerman; born 1970 in Syracuse, New York) is an American judge who has held the role of a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania since January 2, 2025 - In 2013, Weilheimer was elected Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas and served in that role until 2025 - Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County [Pennsylvania], 2014-2024 - Solicitor (part-time), Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 2008-2013 - She then worked in private practice in Philadelphia and Elkins Park, PA, and as Senior Counsel at Wisler Pearlstine, LLP (2006–2013) - Adjunct professor, Widener University School of Law, 2002, 2003, 2006 - Assistant district attorney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1995-2002 - From 1995 to 2002, she was an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, litigating over 100 jury trials and thousands of bench trials. ### Education - B.A. in 1992 and her J.D. in 1995 from Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law. ### Additional information - On July 3, 2024, President Joe Biden nominated Weilheimer to replace Judge Gene E. K. Pratter, who died in May 2024. - Private practice, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, 2006-2013 - Instructor, Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, Widener University School of Law, 1999-2011 - Commissioner, Abington Township, Pennsylvania, 2004-2008 - She also held the role of Abington Township Commissioner (2004–2008) - Private practice, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 2003-2006 - Instructor, National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Hofstra University School of Law, 1998-2005 - Private practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2002 - Her tenure included presiding over criminal, civil, family, and orphans’ court cases, and she was recognized for creating Pennsylvania’s first Competency Court, a model later adopted statewide. - Beyond the courtroom, Weilheimer has been active in judicial education, co-chairing Montgomery County’s Continuing Judicial Education Committee and coordinating its Judicial Internship Program. ## 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/13761902) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761902) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761902) - [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) - [Judge Gail Allison Weilheimer](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761902) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gail-allison-weilheimer", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gail-allison-weilheimer", "name": "Gail Allison Weilheimer | KnowJudges", "description": "Gail Allison Weilheimer, 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.