--- title: "William Scott Hardy | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-scott-hardy" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # William Scott Hardy 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 - American federal judge serving on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania - Current position: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ### Education - Notre Dame Law School — J.D. (1996) - Allegheny College — B.A. (1993) ### Additional information - Private practice, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1996-2020 - Preceded by: Judge Nora Barry Fischer (who took senior status in June 2019) - Born January 1, 1971, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. - Date of birth: 1971 - Hardy has been active in bar associations (American Health Lawyers Association, Allegheny County Bar Association) and civic organizations, including Good Samaritan Hospice of Pittsburgh, Laurel Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh - Birth place: Pittsburgh ## 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/8648136) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8648136) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8648136) - [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) - [Judge William Scott Hardy](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8648136) - [Wikidata: W. Scott Hardy](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q73794680) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-scott-hardy", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-scott-hardy", "name": "William Scott Hardy | KnowJudges", "description": "William Scott Hardy, 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.