--- title: "Mark Raymond Hornak | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-r-hornak" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Mark Raymond Hornak 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: 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, W.D. Pennsylvania, 2011-present - Chief Judge: held the role of Chief Judge of the Western District of Pennsylvania from December 7, 2018, until December 7, 2025 - Adjunct professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1989-1993 - Law clerk, Hon. James M. Sprouse, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1981-1982 - United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania - Current role: Active judge on the Western District of Pennsylvania court ### Education ### Additional information - Appointed: Nominated by President Barack Obama on January 5, 2011, to a seat vacated by Judge Donetta W. Ambrose - Private practice, Pittsburgh, PA, 1982-2011 - Born March 31, 1956, in Homestead, Pennsylvania. - Date of birth: 1956-01-01 - Judge Hornak is known for his extensive legal career, leadership in the federal judiciary, and contributions to trial advocacy and judicial education - Birth place: Homestead, 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: 13 22. Use of Courtroom Technology The parties are required to use trial presentation technology, courtroom technology, and trial exhibit summaries (pursuant to Rule 1006 of the Federal Rules of Evidence), to the fullest extent possible in all cases. Should the parties require training or other information on use of the courtroom technology, the parties… [JH-PracticesandProceduresofJudgeMarkRHornakredline12-2016.pdf](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/JH-PracticesandProceduresofJudgeMarkRHornakredline12-2016.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: DURING YOUR DELIBERATIONS, YOU MUST NOT COMMUNICATE WITH OR PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION TO ANYONE BY ANY MEANS ABOUT THIS CASE. YOU MAY NOT USE ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR MEDIA, SUCH AS THE TELEPHONE, A CELL PHONE, SMART PHONE, iPHONE , BLACKBERRY OR COMPUTER, THE INTERNET, ANY INTERNET SERVICE, ANY TEXT OR INSTANT MESSAGING SERVICE, ANY… [Microsoft Word - FINAL Jury Instructions.doc](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/JH-SampleCivilFinalInstructions.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/1393826) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393826) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393826) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1518/mark-raymond-hornak/) - [JH-PracticesandProceduresofJudgeMarkRHornakredline12-2016.pdf](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/JH-PracticesandProceduresofJudgeMarkRHornakredline12-2016.pdf) - [Microsoft Word - FINAL Jury Instructions.doc](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/JH-SampleCivilFinalInstructions.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/1518/mark-raymond-hornak/) - [Wikidata: Mark R. Hornak](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6769366) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-r-hornak", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mark-r-hornak", "name": "Mark Raymond Hornak | KnowJudges", "description": "Mark Raymond Hornak, 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.