--- title: "Joseph F. Leeson Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-f-leeson-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Joseph F. Leeson Jr. 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 judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, 2014-present - Office of the Solicitor, Northampton County, PA, 1985-2013 - Solicitor's Office, Bethlehem, PA, 1991-2003 ### Education - DeSales University — B.A. (1977) ### Additional information - Solicitor, Board of Ethics, Easton, PA, 2013-2014 - Tax hearing officer, Bethlehem Township, PA, 2011-2014 - Alternative zoning solicitor, Borough of Bangor, PA, 2011-2014 - Solicitor, East Allen Township, PA, 2006-2014 - Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association, 1981-2014 - Private practice, Bethlehem, PA, 1980-2014 - General Purpose Authority solicitor, 2004-2013 - Industrial Development Authority solicitor, 1991-2004 - city solicitor, 1998-2003 - city council solicitor, 1991-1998 - Personnel Appeals Board solicitor, 1985-1990 - Date of birth: 1955-01-01 - Columbus School of Law - Before his judicial appointment, Leeson spent over three decades in private practice as a founding partner of Leeson, Leeson & Leeson in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. - He also served extensively as a solicitor for multiple Pennsylvania municipalities and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association - Leeson has held leadership roles in regional organizations, including the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation and the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, and has served on the Board of Trustees of DeSales University - Birth place: Allentown, 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: Courthouse and Federal Building, Courtroom C, Third Floor, 504 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101.2 2. Courtroom Technology The Judge’s courtroom is not an electronic courtroom. Requests for Court approval for the parties to provide and pay for (at the parties’ expense) courtroom technology should be directed to the Criminal/Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Justin F. [leepol.pdf](https://www.paed.uscourts.gov/sites/paed/files/documents/procedures/leepol.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1394701) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394701) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394701) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1895/joseph-f-leeson-jr/) - [leepol.pdf](https://www.paed.uscourts.gov/sites/paed/files/documents/procedures/leepol.pdf) - [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/1895/joseph-f-leeson-jr/) - [Wikidata: Joseph F. Leeson, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17285508) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-f-leeson-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-f-leeson-jr", "name": "Joseph F. Leeson Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Joseph F. Leeson Jr., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-f-leeson-jr#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-f-leeson-jr#judge", "name": "Joseph F. 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Leeson Jr.", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-f-leeson-jr" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 185 | 11 | 0.3 | 11 | | 2y | 362 | 107 | 2.9 | 107 | | 5y | 852 | 568 | 5.5 | 568 | | 10y | 1756 | 1462 | 5.8 | 1462 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. 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.