--- title: "Mark A. Kearney | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-a-kearney" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Mark A. Kearney 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 - Judge, District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, 2014-present - Federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, appointed in 2014 by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate - He held the role of a law clerk to Vice Chancellor Maurice A. Hartnett III of the Delaware Court of Chancery (1987–1988) and later practiced law in Philadelphia and Blue Bell, PA, at Elliott, Mannino & Flaherty, P.C. (1988–1990) and Elliott, Greenleaf & Siedzikowski, P.C. (1990–2014), where he was a shareholder - Law clerk, Hon. Maurice A. Hartnett III, Delaware Court of Chancery, 1987-1988 - Official site: Eastern District of Pennsylvania – Judge Mark A. Kearney Eastern District of Pennsylvania ### Education - Villanova University — J.D. (1987) - Villanova University — B.A. (1984) - Villanova University School of Law — J.D. ### Additional information - Repeatedly recognized as a Top 50 litigation star in Pennsylvania by Benchmark Litigation and named Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2014 - On June 16, 2014, President Obama nominated Kearney to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania bench, replacing J. Curtis Joyner, who had assumed senior status in 2013. - held the role of President of the Montgomery Bar Association (2009) and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (2014–15) - Private practice, Philadelphia and Blue Bell, PA, 1988-2014 - Born in 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kearney earned a B.A. cum laude in 1984 - Date of birth: 1963-01-01 - Kearney handled complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts, including class actions, multi-district litigations, mass torts, and regulatory investigations - Birth place: Philadelphia, 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/1394691) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394691) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394691) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1719/mark-a-kearney/) - [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/1719/mark-a-kearney/) - [Wikidata: Mark A. Kearney](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17285419) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-a-kearney", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-a-kearney", "name": "Mark A. Kearney | KnowJudges", "description": "Mark A. Kearney, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-a-kearney#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-a-kearney#judge", "name": "Mark A. 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Kearney", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-a-kearney" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 185 | 17 | 0.3 | 17 | | 2y | 392 | 163 | 1.3 | 163 | | 5y | 1013 | 767 | 2.8 | 767 | | 10y | 2095 | 1849 | 3.2 | 1849 | 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.