--- title: "Susan Paradise Baxter | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-p-baxter" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Susan Paradise Baxter 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 judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 2018-present - District Judge (2018–present): Nominated by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2017 - Court solicitor, Court of Common Pleas of Erie County [Pennsylvania], 1994-present ### Education - Temple University — J.D. (1983) - M.Ed. — Temple University — 1980 - Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus — B.S. (1978) - Temple University Beasley School of Law ### Additional information - Received her commission on September 10, 2018 - Magistrate, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 1995-2018 - Magistrate Judge (1995–2018): Served over two decades, including as Chief Magistrate Judge (2005–2009) - She previously served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge from 1995 to 2018, including service as Chief Magistrate Judge from 2005 to 2009 - Chief Magistrate, District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania, 2005-2009 - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1983-1992 - Teacher, Wallingford, PA, 1978-1981 - Date of birth: 1956-01-01 - Birth place: Latrobe, 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: 12 Counsel shall obtain the Court’s approval in advance for use of any demonstrative aid/s during opening statements. Demonstrative aids are permitted during trial absent a sustained objection. 15. [Baxter_PP_2019.pdf](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/Baxter_PP_2019.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/5153456) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5153456) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5153456) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8544/susan-paradise-baxter/) - [Baxter_PP_2019.pdf](https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/sites/pawd/files/Baxter_PP_2019.pdf) - [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/8544/susan-paradise-baxter/) - [Wikidata: Susan Paradise Baxter](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20806949) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-p-baxter", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-p-baxter", "name": "Susan Paradise Baxter | KnowJudges", "description": "Susan Paradise Baxter, 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.