Gail Weilheimer

Eastern District of Pennsylvania
	Third Circuit
Judgeships
	Posts: 22
	Judges: 22
	Vacancies: 0
Judges
	Chief: Wendy Beetlestone
	Active judges: ; Wendy Beetlestone, Mary Kay Costello, Paul Diamond, John Gallagher, Mitchell Goldberg, Catherine Henry, Kelley Hodge, Mark A. Kearney, Chad F. Kenney Sr., Joseph F. Leeson Jr., Karen Marston, Gerald Austin McHugh Jr., John Frank Murphy, Gerald J. Pappert, Mia Roberts Perez, Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro, Juan Sanchez, Jeffrey L. Schmehl, Kai Scott, Gail Weilheimer, Joshua Wolson, John M. Younge; Senior judges:; Harvey Bartle, Michael Baylson, Anita Brody, Ronald Buckwalter, Legrome Davis, Jan DuBois, Darnell Jones, Robert Kelly, John Padova Sr., Eduardo Robreno, Cynthia Rufe, Timothy J. Savage, Berle Schiller, Joel Slomsky, Richard Barclay Surrick, Petrese Tucker, William Yohn

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Gail Weilheimer
	Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Progress
	Confirmed 148 days after nomination.
	Nominated: July 8, 2024
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: July 31, 2024
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: September 19, 2024
	Confirmed: December 3, 2024
	Vote: 50-48

Gail Weilheimer is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on July 8, 2024, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 3, 2024, by a vote of 50-48.^[1]^[2]^[3] Weilheimer was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the Eastern 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, Weilheimer was a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.^[4] She was elected in November 2013 for a term that will expire in 2023.^[5]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2025-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On July 8, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Weilheimer to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.^[2] Weilheimer received commission on January 2, 2025.^[1] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Weilheimer by a vote of 50-48 on December 3, 2024.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Weilheimer confirmation vote (December 3, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	47	0	0
Republican	0	48	1
Independent	3	0	1
Total	50^[6]	48	2

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Weilheimer's nomination on July 31, 2024. Weilheimer was reported to the full Senate on September 19, 2024, after an 11-10 committee vote.^[7]^[3] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee hearing.

Nomination

On July 8, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Gail Weilheimer to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Weilheimer was nominated to replace Judge Gene Pratter, who left office on May 17, 2024, when she died.^[8]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Weilheimer Well Qualified.^[9] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Early life and education

Weilheimer was born in 1970 in Syracuse, New York. She earned her B.A. from Hofstra University in 1992 and her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law in 1995.^[1]^[10]

Career

2025-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
2014-2024: Judge, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
- 2022-2024: Competency Court
- 2018-2020, 2022-2024: Civil Division
- 2020-2022: Orphans' Court
- 2016-2018: Criminal Court
- 2014-2016: Family Court
2008-2013: Solicitor, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
2006-2013: Private practice, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
2004-2008: Commissioner, Abington Township, Pennsylvania
2003-2006: Private practice, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
2002, 2003, 2006: Adjunct professor, Widener University School of Law
2002: Private practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1999-2011: Instructor, Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, Widener University School of Law
1998-2005: Instructor, National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Hofstra University School of Law
1995-2002: Assistant district attorney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania^[1]

Awards and associations

Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
Member, Montgomery County Bar Association
Member, Abington Township Board of Commissioners, Elected Member, 2005-2009
Member, Rydal Meadowbrook Civic Association^[10]

National Truman Scholar
Litigation Award, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
Hofstra University’s Woman of the Year^[10]

2013 election

Weilheimer ran for election to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Primary: She received 40.0 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary on May 21, 2013. She also cross-filed as a Republican, but lost that primary with 15.4 percent of the vote.
General: She was elected in the general election on November 5, 2013, with 25.9 percent of the vote. Steven C. Tolliver, Sharon Giamporcaro and Maureen Coggins were also on the ballot, competing for two open seats.

See also: Pennsylvania judicial elections, 2013 - Courts of Common Pleas

^[11]^[12]^[13]^[5]

About the court

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is one of 94 United States district courts. It is one of the original thirteen federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789.

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.

The Eastern 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 Eastern District of Pennsylvania consists of all the following counties in the eastern part of the state:

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

Political offices
Preceded by Gene Pratter	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas -2025	Succeeded by -