Karoline Mehalchick

Middle District of Pennsylvania
	Third Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 6
	Judges: 5
	Vacancies: 1
Judges
	Chief: Matthew Brann
	Active judges: ; Matthew Brann, Christopher Conner, Karoline Mehalchick, Julia Munley, Jennifer Philpott Wilson; Senior judges:; Yvette Kane, Malachy Mannion, Robert David Mariani, Sylvia Rambo

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Karoline Mehalchick
	Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Progress
	Confirmed 204 days after nomination.
	Nominated: July 11, 2023
	ABA Rating: Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: July 26, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: September 14, 2023
	Confirmed: January 31, 2024
	Vote: 50-49

Karoline Mehalchick is a judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on July 11, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 2024, by a vote of 50-49.^[1]^[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Karoline Mehalchick was a federal magistrate judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She was first appointed to the court in 2013.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On July 11, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Mehalchick to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.^[2] Mehalchick received commission on February 5, 2024.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Mehalchick by a vote of 50-49 on January 31, 2024.^[7] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Mehalchick confirmation vote (January 31, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	1	0
Republican	0	48	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	50^[8]	49	1

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Mehalchick's nomination on July 26, 2023. Mehalchick was reported to the full Senate on September 14, 2023, after a 11-10 committee vote.^[9].

Nomination

On June 28, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate Mehalchick to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.^[6] The president officially nominated Mehalchick on July 11, 2023.^[2] Click here for a list of other nominees who have been nominated by President Joe Biden.

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Mehalchick qualified.^[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Mehalchick was nominated to replace Judge John E. Jones III, who retired on August 1, 2021.^[5]

Biography

Education

Mehalchick received her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and a law degree from the Tulane University School of Law.^[11]

Career

2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
2013-2024: Federal magistrate judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
2008-2013: Partner, Oliver, Price & Rhodes
2002-2008: Attorney, Oliver, Price & Rhodes
2001-2002: Law clerk for Judge Patricia Corbett of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas^[5]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is one of 94 United States district courts. The court operates out of Scranton, Pennsylvania. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit based in downtown Philadelphia at the James Byrne Courthouse.

Jurisdiction

Pennsylvania counties (click for larger map)

The Middle District of Pennsylvania has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Middle District of Pennsylvania consists of approximately one-half of Pennsylvania. The following counties form the Middle District:

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 The Federal Judicial Center, "Mehalchick, Karoline," accessed January 31, 2024
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Congress.gov, "PN816 — Karoline Mehalchick — The Judiciary," accessed July 11, 2023
↑ United States Courts, The Third Branch: Judicial Milestones 8/20/2013
↑ United States District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania, Press Release: Standing Order 13-7 IN RE: The Appointment of Karoline Mehalchick as Full-Time United States Magistrate Judge," July 15, 2013
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 Thetimes-tribune.com, "Scranton attorney appointed federal magistrate judge," July 16, 2013 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 The White House, "President Biden Names Thirty-Fifth Round of Judicial Nominees and One New Nominee to Serve as U.S. Attorney," June 28, 2023
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cong2
↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of Executive Business Meeting – September 14, 2023," accessed September 14, 2023
↑ [https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/government_affairs_office/webratingchart-118.pdf American Bar Association, "STANDING COMMITTEE ONTHE FEDERAL JUDICIARY," accessed July 25, 2023]
↑ OPRLaw.com, Karoline Mehalchick biography

Political offices
Preceded by John E. Jones III	United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania 2024-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania 2013-2024	Succeeded by -

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