---
title: "Michael Fanning | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-fanning-pa-01-f8665cfc"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-07-28"
---

# Michael Fanning

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Judicial District 01 (Philadelphia County) · Common Pleas Judge

## Profile

- Court: Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Judicial District 01 (Philadelphia County)
- State: Pennsylvania
- Role: Common Pleas Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## 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

### physical and oversized exhibits

Scope: courtwide

Philadelphia Rule 5101 requires physical evidence and oversized exhibits to be photographed, converted to letter-sized PDF, marked, and produced during trial or an evidentiary hearing.

Evidence excerpt: Physical evidence and oversized exhibits must be photographed by the proponent, converted to letter sized pdf and appropriately marked and produced during the trial or evidentiary hearing.

[Philadelphia Rule of Judicial Administration No. *5101](https://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/regs/2024/06-of-2024-GCR.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-28

### audio and video exhibits

Scope: courtwide

Electronic evidence, including audio or video exhibits, must be supplied on a USB drive, CD/DVD, or another medium specified by the presiding judge or Office of Judicial Records.

Evidence excerpt: Electronic evidence, including audio or video exhibits, must be produced by the proponent on a USB drive, CD/DVD, or other medium specified by the presiding judge or Office of Judicial Records.

[Philadelphia Rule of Judicial Administration No. *5101](https://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/regs/2024/06-of-2024-GCR.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-28

### post trial exhibit filing

Scope: courtwide

For Civil Section trials and evidentiary hearings, each proponent must upload documentary exhibits and provide any audio or video media to the Office of Judicial Records within five days after the proceeding concludes.

Evidence excerpt: within five (5) days of the conclusion of the trial or evidentiary hearing, counsel for each proponent of the exhibits and evidence shall upload their documentary exhibits through the Electronic Filing System

[Philadelphia Rule of Judicial Administration No. *5101](https://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/regs/2024/06-of-2024-GCR.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-28

### recording photography evidence presentation

Scope: statewide

For Pennsylvania Common Pleas proceedings, statewide Pa.R.J.A. 1910 prohibits courtroom broadcasting, recording, and photography unless an exception or judicial authorization applies; the rule also recognizes judge-authorized electronic or photographic means for evidence presentation.

Evidence excerpt: the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence

[201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.pacourts.us/courts/courts-of-common-pleas/common-pleas-judges/print-view)
- [Official roster](https://www.pacourts.us/courts/courts-of-common-pleas/common-pleas-judges/print-view)
- [Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania official judicial roster](https://www.pacourts.us/courts/courts-of-common-pleas/common-pleas-judges/print-view)
- [Philadelphia Rule of Judicial Administration No. *5101](https://www.courts.phila.gov/pdf/regs/2024/06-of-2024-GCR.pdf)
- [201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Michael Fanning is a Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas judge in Pennsylvania, appointed in 2014 and retained in 2025, who was recently suspended without pay after being arrested on domestic assault charges

### Education

- B.A. from LaSalle University (1987), a J.D. from Temple University (1990), and an LL.M. from Temple University (2000)

### Additional information

- He was retained in the November 4, 2025 retention election with 85.8% of the vote.
- Appointed by then‐Governor Tom Corbett on June 30, 2014, and initially served a ten‐year term elected in 2015.
- Long‐serving Philadelphia judge with a background in public prosecution and private practice.
- Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, assigned to Department Room 1545.
- Before joining the bench, Fanning had a 25‐year career as a trial attorney and held the role of an Assistant District Attorney in the Child Abuse Unit of Bucks County.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [201 Pa. Code Chapter 19, Rule 1910, Broadcasting, Recording and Photography in the Courtroom](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-0784d9a288c3456edcbc19ff) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?d=&file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F201%2Fchapter19%2Fchap19toc.html). Collected 2026-07-26.
