--- title: "Wendy Beetlestone | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/wendy-beetlestone" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Wendy Beetlestone 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: active - 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, 2014-present - President Barack Obama nominated Beetlestone to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 16, 2014, to fill the seat vacated by Judge Michael Baylson - General counsel, The School District of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 2002-2005 - She then worked at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, LLP, becoming a partner in 2001 - Began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Robert S. Gawthrop III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 1994 - She later joined Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller as a shareholder, litigating complex commercial matters in both federal and state courts ### Education - B.A. — Kent State University at East Liverpool — 1984 - Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from the University of Liverpool in 1984, where she also held the role of editor-in-chief of the university newspaper and held student leadership roles. - University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ### Additional information - In 2023, Beetlestone was selected as the eleventh chancellor of the University of Liverpool, becoming the institution’s first female and first Black chancellor. - Private practice, Philadelphia, PA, 2005-2014 - Private practice, Philadelphia, PA, 1994-2002 - Television news producer, Pittsburgh and Bala Cynwyd, PA, 1986-1990 - Date of birth: 1961-01-01 - Judge Beetlestone has issued significant nationwide injunctions, including rulings against regulations allowing employers to refuse contraceptive coverage in employee insurance plans based on religious or moral objections. - This role is largely ceremonial but highlights her leadership and recognition in both legal and academic communities - Throughout her career, Beetlestone has been recognized for her expertise in education law and complex litigation, including being named among the top 250 women in litigation in the United States. - Birth place: Ibadan, Nigeria ## 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/1394676) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394676) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394676) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/234/wendy-beetlestone/) - [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/234/wendy-beetlestone/) - [Wikidata: Wendy Beetlestone](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17279170) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/wendy-beetlestone", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/wendy-beetlestone", "name": "Wendy Beetlestone | KnowJudges", "description": "Wendy Beetlestone, 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.