Julia Munley

Middle District of Pennsylvania
	Third Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 6
	Judges: 6
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Matthew Brann
	Active judges: ; Matthew Brann, Christopher Conner, Karoline Mehalchick, Julia Munley, Jennifer Philpott Wilson, Joseph Saporito; Senior judges:; Yvette Kane, Malachy Mannion, Robert David Mariani, Sylvia Rambo

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Julia Munley
	Court: United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Progress
	Confirmed 166 days after nomination.
	Nominated: May 4, 2023
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: June 7, 2023
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: July 20, 2023
	Confirmed: October 17, 2023
	Vote: 52-45

Julia Munley 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 May 4, 2023, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 17, 2023, by a vote of 52-45.^[1] 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, Munley was a judge of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania. Munley was appointed to the court by Democratic Governor Tom Wolf on June 13, 2016. She was sworn into office on July 1, 2016.^[2]^[3] Munley ran unopposed for election to her seat in 2016.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (2023-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On May 4, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Munley to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She was confirmed by a 52-45 vote of the U.S. Senate on October 17, 2023.^[1] Munley received commission on November 7, 2023.^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Munley by a vote of 52-45 on October 17, 2023.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Munley confirmation vote (October 17, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	46	0	2
Republican	3	45	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	52^[5]	45	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Munley's nomination on June 7, 2023. Munley was reported to the full Senate on July 20, 2023, after a 12-9 committee vote.^[1] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On May 4, 2023, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Munley to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.^[1]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Munley Well Qualified.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Munley was nominated to replace Judge Robert David Mariani, who assumed senior status on September 30, 2022.^[7]^[4]

Biography

Bildung

Munley earned a bachelor's degree from Marywood College in 1987 and a law degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1992.^[4]

Professional career

2023-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
2016-2023: Judge, Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas
1993-2016: Private practice
1998-2001: Part-time solicitor, Elderly Law Project, Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging
1992-1993: Law clerk^[4]

Elections

2017

See also: Pennsylvania local trial court judicial elections, 2017

Pennsylvania held local judicial elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on May 16, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 7, 2017. Candidates and recently appointed judges of the Courts of Common Pleas must initially run in partisan elections. Subsequent terms are won through retention elections. Elections for the Magisterial District Courts are always partisan. Pennsylvania allows cross-filing for candidates running in partisan elections. Most candidates run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.^[8]

Incumbent Julia Munley (Democratic/Republican) ran unopposed in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas general election.^[9]

Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic/Republican	Julia Munley Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	40,396
Total Votes				40,396
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Municipal Election," November 7, 2017

Incumbent Julia Munley ran unopposed in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas Democratic primary.^[10]

Ballotpedia will publish vote totals here after they become available.

Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate
Julia Munley Incumbent
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Primary Judge of the Court of Common Pleas," accessed May 16, 2017

Munley also ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

Selection method

See also: Partisan election of judges

The 439 judges of the court of common pleas are elected to 10-year terms in partisan elections. Candidates may cross-file with both political parties for the partisan primaries, which are followed by general elections where the primary winners from each party compete.^[11]^[12] Judges must run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to continue serving after their first term. A separate part of the ballot is designated for these elections, and judges' names appear without respect to party affiliation.^[11]^[13]

The president judge of each Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas is chosen by either peer vote or seniority, depending on the size of the court. Statewide, all courts composed of more than seven individuals must select their chief judge by peer vote. Those with seven or fewer members select their chief by seniority.^[11]^[14]

Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must:^[11]

have state residence for at least one year;
be a district resident for at least one year (for common pleas judges);
be a member of the state bar; and
be under the age of 75.

While retirement at 75 is mandatory, judges may apply for senior judge status. Senior judges may serve as such until the last day of the calendar year in which they turn 78.^[14]

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.

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 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Congress.gov, "PN590 — Julia Kathleen Munley — The Judiciary," accessed May 10, 2023 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "congress" defined multiple times with different content
↑ PA.gov, "Governor Wolf, Senate Leaders Announce Slate of Judicial Nominations," June 13, 2016
↑ PA Home Page, "Julia Munley Appointed Interim County Judge," July 1, 2016
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 FJC, "Munley, Julia Kathleen," November 13, 2023 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "FJC" defined multiple times with different content
↑ Note: The bolded number reflects the largest number.
↑ American Bar Association, "Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary," "Ratings Of Article III And Article IV Judicial Nominees," "118th Congress," accessed June 12, 2023
↑ United States Courts, "Future Judicial Vacancies," accessed September 6, 2023
↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 23, 2017
↑ Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, "Election Summary Report," accessed November 7, 2017
↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Candidate Database," accessed March 20, 2017
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 ^11.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Pennsylvania," archived October 3, 2014
↑ The Morning Call, "Ban Cross-filing As One Step," January 24, 1985
↑ The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, "In Re: Nomination Papers of Marakay Rogers, Christina Valente and Carl J. Romanelli," November 7, 2006
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 The Pennsylvania Code, "Chapter 7. Assignment of Judges," accessed September 3, 2014

Political offices
Preceded by Robert David Mariani	United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas -2023	Succeeded by -