---
title: "J. Michael Eakin | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# J. Michael Eakin

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- State: Pennsylvania
- Role: Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2002-present
- Justice Eakin died on May 27, 2025, at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, aged 76
- 2001–2016: Associate Justice, Pennsylvania Supreme Court, elected in 2001 and retained in 2011
- 1995–2001: Judge, Pennsylvania Superior Court

### Education

- Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law in — J.D. (1975)

### Additional information

- Elected to the State's Supreme Court in 2001 as a Republican.
- First elected to the court as a Republican in a partisan election in 2001.
- Military service Eakin served with Pennsylvania’s Army National Guard (28th Division) from 1971 to 1977
- Born November 18, 1948 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Eakin graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 1970 with a B.A. in Government
- Date of birth: 1948-01-01
- Calday Grange Grammar School

## 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

### recording photography evidence presentation

Scope: statewide

For Pennsylvania Common Pleas proceedings, statewide Pa.R.J.A. 1910 prohibits courtroom broadcasting, recording, and photography unless an exception or judicial authorization applies; the rule also recognizes judge-authorized electronic or photographic means for evidence presentation.

Evidence excerpt: the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence

[201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5527/j-michael-eakin/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5527/j-michael-eakin/)
- [Supreme Court of Pennsylvania current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5527/j-michael-eakin/)
- [201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5527/j-michael-eakin/)
- [J. Michael Eakin - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/J._Michael_Eakin)
- [Michael Eakin - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Eakin#:~:text=Early%20life%20and%20career,-Justice%20Eakin%20was&text=He%20graduated%20from%20Franklin%20and,Widener%20University%20in%20Chester%2C%20Pennsylvania.)
- [Wikidata: Michael Eakin](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6830048)

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