--- title: "Stephanie Lou Haines | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Stephanie Lou Haines 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 statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 2019-present - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Pennsylvania, 2007-2019 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of West Virginia, 2002-2007 - U.S. Army Reserve major and appellate defense attorney, 2002-2005 - appellate defense attorney, 1999-2002 - U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (1996–2002) — captain, legal assistance attorney, prosecutor - Law clerk, Hon. Eugene E. Fike II, Somerset County [Pennsylvania] Court of Common Pleas, 1995-1996 - The 63rd commissioned judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, assigned to the Johnstown Division ### Education - Juniata College — B.A. (1992) ### Additional information - West Virginia Air National Guard Reserve colonel, 2005-present - Nominated on March 5, 2019, to replace Judge David S. Cercone, who had assumed senior status in 2017. - state headquarters JAG attorney, 2013-2019 - West Virginia Air National Guard (2005–2019) — colonel, staff judge advocate, state headquarters JAG attorney - staff judge advocate, 2008-2013 - deputy staff judge advocate, 2005-2008 - prosecutor, 1997-1999 - legal assistance attorney, 1996-1997 - Date of birth: 1969-01-01 - The sole prosecutor in the Johnstown, PA branch office before her judicial appointment - Birth place: Johnstown, 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/7049256) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7049256) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7049256) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14409/stephanie-lou-haines/) - [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/14409/stephanie-lou-haines/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines", "name": "Stephanie Lou Haines | KnowJudges", "description": "Stephanie Lou Haines, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines#judge", "name": "Stephanie Lou Haines", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/7049256", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14409/stephanie-lou-haines/" ], "birthDate": "1969", "birthPlace": "Johnstown, PA", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Juniata College" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Pennsylvania", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/pennsylvania" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephanie Lou Haines", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephanie-lou-haines" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 336 | 135 | 1.7 | 135 | | 2y | 510 | 219 | 1.7 | 219 | | 5y | 843 | 490 | 3.8 | 490 | | 10y | 1042 | 684 | 5.7 | 684 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — 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](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.