Peter E Ormsby: scheduled recall term end at U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
scheduled recall term end:
Status: announced
Peter E Ormsby
Recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge · U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Upcoming changes
Peter E Ormsby at a glance
- Current role
- Recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania · U.S. Magistrate Judge · Recalled · April 1, 2026–April 1, 2027 · Assignment source ↗
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas · U.S. Magistrate Judge · Active · Assignment source ↗
Appointment and verification
- Source authority
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Biography
Professional career
- Peter E. Ormsby is a retired U.S. federal magistrate judge who most recently served in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas before being recalled to the Western District of Pennsylvania for a limited-term assignment in 2026
- Appointed: February 28, 2005, as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Texas
- Peter E. Ormsby is a veteran federal judge with over 16 years of service in the Southern District of Texas, now serving a temporary recall in the Western District of Pennsylvania
Education
Additional information
- Magistrate, District Court, S.D. Texas, 2005-present
- In March 2026, the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit issued an order recalling Ormsby to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania
- Scope: Authorized to perform all magistrate judge powers under 28 U.S.C.. 636(h), on a when-actually-employed basis of at least 20 hours per week
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
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.
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 ↗
Recording and broadcasting
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.
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 ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
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 ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
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 ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked July 29, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 2, 2026.
U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster
Identity source · HTML · Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts · Source checked July 29, 2026
View U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster
Identity source · HTML · Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts · Source checked July 29, 2026
View U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗BR/MAG Judge Database: Peter E. Ormsby
Identity source · HTML · University of Virginia School of Law Legal Data Lab · Source checked August 2, 2026
View BR/MAG Judge Database: Peter E. Ormsby ↗