Who appointed Matthew William Brann?

President Barack Obama appointed Matthew William Brann to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 2012.

Was Matthew William Brann appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?

Matthew William Brann was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.

What was Matthew William Brann's confirmation vote?

Matthew William Brann was confirmed by voice vote on December 21, 2012. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.

Middle District of Pennsylvania / Appointed 2012 / Active

Matthew William Brann

Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by voice vote, Matthew William Brann is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He earned a law degree from Dickinson School of Law (now Penn State Dickinson Law) in 1990. Sources ↓

Born: 1965 · age 61
Appointed by: Barack Obama, 2012
Confirmed: by voice vote
Education: University of Notre Dame 1987 · Dickinson Law (now Penn State Dickinson Law) 1990
Succeeded: Thomas Ignatius Vanaskie

Federal judicial service

Year	Court	Appointed by	Vote
2012	Middle District of Pennsylvania succeeded Thomas Ignatius Vanaskie	Obama (D)	Voice vote

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.

Confirmation vote

Voice vote

The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.

Education

University of Notre Dame	B.A.	1987
Dickinson School of Law (now Penn State Dickinson Law)	J.D.	1990

Judicial Record

Caseload & case types

In our data, Brann was assigned 3,003 district-court cases (1989–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 256 days across 2,467 closed cases.

Other civil matters40%

Prisoner & habeas13%

Civil rights11%

Personal-injury torts7%

Contract6%

Criminal5%

Other19%

Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.

On appeal

Of 345 of Brann’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 268 were affirmed, 38 reversed or vacated, and 39 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Matthew William Brann?: President Barack Obama appointed Matthew William Brann to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 2012.
Was Matthew William Brann appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?: Matthew William Brann was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Matthew William Brann's confirmation vote?: Matthew William Brann was confirmed by voice vote on December 21, 2012. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court is Matthew William Brann on?: Matthew William Brann is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources

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13 years on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).