--- title: "Joy Flowers Conti | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joy-flowers-conti" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Joy Flowers Conti 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: senior - 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, 2002-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, appointed in 2002 and elevated to senior status in 2018 - Early Career: Law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Louis L. Mandrino (1973–1974) First woman hired by Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Johnson & Hutchinson (now K&L Gates) in 1974 Tenured professor of law at Duquesne University School of Law (1976–1982) Part-time hearing examiner for the Pennsylvania Department of State (1978–1982) - Law clerk, Hon. Louis L. Manderino, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1973-1974 - The 49th Commissioned Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ### Education - Duquesne University — J.D. (1973) - Duquesne University — B.A. (1970) ### Additional information - She assumed senior status on December 6, 2018 after serving as Chief Judge — 2013–2018 - Private practice, Pennsylvania, 1982-2002 - Hearing examiner (part-time), Bureau of Occupational and Professional Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of State, 1978-1982 - Private practice, Pennsylvania, 1974-1976 - Date of birth: 1948-01-01 - She has also held the role of president of the Allegheny County Bar Association and Governor-at-Large of the Pennsylvania Bar Association - Conti is a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Women’s Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania, Federal Bar Association, and the American Inns of Court – University of Pittsburgh Chapter - Birth place: Kane, 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/1391591) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391591) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391591) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/707/joy-flowers-conti/) - [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/707/joy-flowers-conti/) - [Wikidata: Joy Flowers Conti](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6297129) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joy-flowers-conti", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joy-flowers-conti", "name": "Joy Flowers Conti | KnowJudges", "description": "Joy Flowers Conti, 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.