--- title: "Peter E Ormsby | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-e-ormsby-pennsylvania-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Peter E Ormsby U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania - State: Pennsylvania - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: recalled - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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 ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=26) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=26) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=26) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9586/peter-e-ormsby/) - [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/9586/peter-e-ormsby/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9586/peter-e-ormsby/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-e-ormsby-pennsylvania-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/peter-e-ormsby-pennsylvania-us-magistrate", "name": "Peter E Ormsby | KnowJudges", "description": "Peter E Ormsby, 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.