--- title: "Joel Harvey Slomsky | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joel-harvey-slomsky" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Joel Harvey Slomsky U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ยท Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - State: Pennsylvania - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - 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, 2008-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, appointed in 2008 and elevated to senior status in 2018 - Special attorney, Philadelphia Strike Force, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1971-1973 - Current Role: Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ### Education - New York Law School โ€” J.D. (1970) - Brooklyn College ### Additional information - Private practice, Pennsylvania, 1973-2008 - Date of birth: 1946-01-01 - 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 ### 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/1392806) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392806) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392806) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2996/joel-harvey-slomsky/) - [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/2996/joel-harvey-slomsky/) - [Wikidata: Joel Harvey Slomsky](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6213533) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joel-harvey-slomsky", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joel-harvey-slomsky", "name": "Joel Harvey Slomsky | KnowJudges", "description": "Joel Harvey Slomsky, 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) โ€” 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.