--- title: "Ronald Lawrence Buckwalter | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ronald-lawrence-buckwalter" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Ronald Lawrence Buckwalter 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: senior - 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, 1990-2003 - Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Pennsylvania, 1980-1990 - District attorney, Lancaster County, PA, 1978-1980 - Assistant district attorney, Lancaster County, PA, 1970-1978 - Clerk, Hon. John Bowman and Hon. Anthony Appel, Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Pennsylvania, 1966-1970 - Inactive senior United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania - He remains a senior judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, though no longer active on the bench ### Education - A.B. in 1958 from Franklin & Marshall College and a Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) in 1962 from the College of William & Mary School of Law. ### Additional information - He assumed senior status on December 11, 2003 - Nominated by President George H. W. Bush on November 17, 1989, to replace Charles R. Weiner, Buckwalter was confirmed by the Senate on March 9, 1990, and commissioned March 12, 1990. - Private practice, Lancaster, PA, 1963-1980 - Legal aid attorney, Lancaster, PA, 1964-1966 - Born December 11, 1936, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. - Date of birth: 1936-01-01 - Before his federal judicial role, he served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, attained the rank of first lieutenant, and practiced law in Lancaster, PA - Remembered for his work in constitutional law, civil litigation, and high‐profile criminal cases, as well as his role in early internet‐related First Amendment rulings. - Birth place: Lancaster, 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/1378521) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378521) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378521) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/454/ronald-lawrence-buckwalter/) - [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/454/ronald-lawrence-buckwalter/) - [Wikidata: Ronald L. Buckwalter](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7365035) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ronald-lawrence-buckwalter", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ronald-lawrence-buckwalter", "name": "Ronald Lawrence Buckwalter | KnowJudges", "description": "Ronald Lawrence Buckwalter, U.S. District Court for the Eastern 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.