Cathy Bissoon

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Tenure

2011 - Present

Years in position

14

Education

Bachelor's

Alfred University, 1990

Law

Harvard Law School, 1993

Personal

Birthplace

New York, NY

Contact

Official website

Cathy Bissoon is thechief judge on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She joined the court in 2011 after a nomination from PresidentBarack Obama. In 2025, Bissoon became the chief judge of the court.^[1]

Early life and education

A native ofBrooklyn, New York, Bissoon received her undergraduate degree from Alfred University in 1990 and herJ.D. from Harvard Law School in 1993.^[1]

Professional career

• 2008 - Present:United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

• 2025 - Present: Chief judge
• 2011 - Present: Judge
• 2008-2011:Magistrate judge

• 1995-2008: Private practice,Pittsburgh, Pa.
• 1994-1995: Law clerk, Hon.Gary Lancaster,United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania^[1]

Judicial career

Western District of Pennsylvania

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Cathy Bissoon
Court:United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Progress
Confirmed 334 days after nomination.
ANominated: November 17, 2010
AABA Rating:Unanimously Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: June 22, 2011
QFRs:QFRs(Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: July 21, 2011
AConfirmed: October 17, 2011
AVote: 82-3
AReturned: December 22, 2010

On November 17, 2010,President Obama first nominated Bissoon to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated byThomas Hardiman. Under provisions of Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate, Bissoon's nomination was returned to the president on December 22, 201. President Obama resubmitted the nomination on January 5, 2011. TheAmerican Bar Association rated BissoonUnanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Bissoon's nomination were held before theSenate Judiciary Committee on June 22, 2011, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen.Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on July 21, 2011. Bissoon was confirmed on a recorded 82-3 vote of theU.S. Senate on October 17, 2011, and she received her commission on October 19, 2011.^[1][2][3][4] In 2025, Bissoon became the chief judge of the court.^[1]

See also

• United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
• United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit

External links

Suggest a link

• Judge Bissoon's biography from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges who have served theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
Active judges	Chief Judge: Cathy Bissoon  •  Susan Baxter  •  Robert J. Colville  •  Marilyn J. Horan  •  Mark Raymond Hornak  •  J. Nicholas Ranjan  •  Stephanie Haines  •  William Shaw Stickman  •  Scott Hardy  •  Christy Wiegand
Senior judges	Nora Fischer  •  Arthur Schwab  •  David Cercone  •  Joy Conti  •
Magistrate judges	Keith Pesto  •  Maureen Kelly  •  Patricia Dodge  •  Richard Lanzillo  •  Kezia Taylor  •  Christopher Brown (Pennsylvania)  •
Former Article III judges	William Knox  •  Jonathan Hoge Walker  •  William Wilkins  •  Thomas Irwin  •  Wilson McCandless  •  Winthrop Welles Ketcham  •  Marcus Wilson Acheson  •  Joseph Weis (Third Circuit)  •  Brooks Smith  •  Thomas Hardiman  •  Joseph Buffington  •  Timothy Lewis (Pennsylvania)  •  James Hay Reed  •  Nathaniel Ewing  •  James Scott Young  •  Charles Prentiss Orr  •  W. H. Seward Thomson  •  Robert Murray Gibson  •  Alan Bloch  •  Maurice Cohill  •  Gustave Diamond  •  William Standish  •  Gary Lancaster  •  Terrence McVerry  •  Sean McLaughlin  •  Frederic Palen Schoonmaker  •  Nelson McVicar  •  Frederick Follmer  •  Carol Mansmann  •  Owen Burns  •  Robert Cindrich  •  Edward Dumbauld  •  Wallace Gourley  •  Rabe Marsh  •  Barron McCune  •  John McIlvaine  •  Glenn Mencer  •  John Lester Miller  •  Louis Rosenberg  •  Ralph Scalera  •  Daniel Snyder  •  Herbert Sorg  •  William Stewart (Pennsylvania)  •  Hubert Teitelbaum  •  Gerald Weber  •  Joseph Willson  •  Donald Ziegler  •  Donald Lee  •  Paul Simmons  •  Peter Phipps  •
Former Chief judges	Robert Murray Gibson  •  Donetta Ambrose  •  Maurice Cohill  •  Gustave Diamond  •  Gary Lancaster  •  Nelson McVicar  •  Wallace Gourley  •  Rabe Marsh  •  Herbert Sorg  •  Hubert Teitelbaum  •  Gerald Weber  •  Donald Ziegler  •  Mark Raymond Hornak  •

v • e Federal judges nominated byBarack Obama
Nominated	Federal judges nominated by Barack Obama