--- alias: - Eastern District of Pennsylvania - E.D. Pa. - EDPA category: Law Enforcement & Legal created: 2026-09-23 location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania relations: - end: 1791-05-09 fn: 3 reverse: true role: judge of the District of Pennsylvania start: 1789-09-26 type: employed_by with: '[[Francis Hopkinson]]' - fn: 11 reverse: true role: district judge type: employed_by with: '[[Paul S. Diamond]]' start: 1818-04-20 summary: Federal trial court for southeastern Pennsylvania, sitting in Philadelphia, created when Congress divided the District of Pennsylvania in 1818, which heard four federal cases against R.C. Horsch and his son Eugene. tags: - Organization - FederalJudiciary - Court - Philadelphia - Pennsylvania - RCHorsch - OlneyHouseInvestigation updated: 2026-09-23 --- The [United States](/places/united-states/) District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is the federal trial court for southeastern Pennsylvania, sitting in Philadelphia. It descends from the District of Pennsylvania organized by the Judiciary Act of 1789 and was created when Congress divided that district in 1818. Between 1974 and 2026 its judges heard four federal cases involving [R.C. Horsch](/people/rc-horsch/) and his son [Eugene Horsch](/people/eugene-horsch/).[^1][^2] ### The District of Pennsylvania The Judiciary Act of 1789 organized Pennsylvania as one judicial district and authorized one judgeship.[^1] George Washington nominated Francis Hopkinson, born in Philadelphia in 1737 and a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776, on September 24, 1789; his commission issued on September 26, and his service ended with his death on May 9, 1791.[^3] The court sat in Philadelphia and in York until Congress limited its sessions to Philadelphia in 1796. Pennsylvania was assigned to the Third Circuit in 1801, and the Judiciary Act of 1802 again organized the federal courts into six circuits.[^1][^2] An act of April 20, 1818, divided the Commonwealth into two judicial districts, the Eastern and the Western, and in 1901 Congress established the Middle District of Pennsylvania.[^1][^2] Appeals lie to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[^2] ### The Horsch Cases In October 1974 Judge [John B. Hannum](/people/john-b-hannum/), a former chairman of the Chester County Republican Committee appointed by [Richard Nixon](/people/richard-nixon/) in 1969, decided *Hoersch v. Froehlke*, rejecting the claim of Raymond C. Hoersch Jr., later R.C. Horsch, that his involuntary call to active duty in 1970 had been invalid.[^4] In April 1985 Hoersch, who had spent seven years as a fugitive, part of them in [New Zealand](/places/new-zealand/) under a stolen identity, was sentenced by Judge [Joseph L. McGlynn Jr.](/people/joseph-l-mcglynn-jr/), a former assistant United States attorney in the district, to three years for manufacturing methamphetamine, and Judge [Donald W. Van Artsdalen](/people/donald-w-van-artsdalen/), a former district attorney of Bucks County, added a year and a day for jumping bail. He was represented by [Sally A. Kocher](/people/sally-a-kocher/) of the Defender Association of Philadelphia.[^5][^6][^7] *United States v. Horsch*, No. 2:09-cr-00794, filed on December 15, 2009, charged him with cultivating marijuana at his house in New Britain Township. Assistant United States Attorney [Elizabeth F. Abrams](/people/elizabeth-f-abrams/) prosecuted, [Jerome Brown](/people/jerome-brown/) defended, and Judge [Richard Barclay Surrick](/people/richard-barclay-surrick/) sentenced him in 2012 to 54 months.[^8] *United States v. Horsch*, No. 2:26-cr-00296, the prosecution of Eugene Horsch on counts of possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a fraudulent federal identification document, followed a federal grand jury indictment of July 9, 2026, and is assigned to Judge [John Milton Younge](/people/john-milton-younge/), a former general counsel of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas appointed by [Donald Trump](/people/donald-trump/) in 2019. Brown again appears for the defense. The trial was postponed in September 2026 at the defense's request to begin no earlier than March 22.[^9][^10] ### Judge Diamond and the District Attorney On September 15, 2026, in a habeas proceeding over a 2009 murder conviction, Judge Paul S. Diamond of the court referred District Attorney Larry Krasner, his supervisor Matthew Stiegler, and the [Philadelphia District Attorney's Office](/organizations/philadelphia-district-attorneys-office/) to the district's United States Attorney's Office "for investigation and other appropriate action."[^11] [^1]: Federal Judicial Center, "U.S. District Courts for the Districts of Pennsylvania: Legislative History." https://www.fjc.gov/history/courts/us-district-courts-districts-pennsylvania-legislative-history [^2]: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, "History of the Court." https://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/history [^3]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "Hopkinson, Francis." https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/hopkinson-francis [^4]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "Hannum, John Berne"; Hoersch v. Froehlke, 382 F. Supp. 1235 (E.D. Pa. 1974), Civ. A. No. 72-1759, decided October 11, 1974. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/hannum-john-berne ; https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2596970/hoersch-v-froehlke/ [^5]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "McGlynn, Joseph Leo, Jr." https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/mcglynn-joseph-leo-jr [^6]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "VanArtsdalen, Donald West." https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/vanartsdalen-donald-west [^7]: Smith, Jim. "Fugitive's Luck Runs Out With 4-Year Jail Sentence," *Philadelphia Daily News,* April 27, 1985, p. 8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/185948055/ [^8]: *United States v. Horsch,* No. 2:09-cr-00794-RBS (E.D. Pa.), filed December 15, 2009; judgments of June 28 and July 3, 2012, docket via CourtListener RECAP. https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=Horsch&type=r&court=paed [^9]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "Younge, John Milton"; Kramer, Jillian. "Eugene Horsch indicted in federal court on firearms, fake credentials charges," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 9, 2026. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/younge-john-milton ; https://www.inquirer.com/crime/eugene-horsch-olney-house-federal-indictment-20260709.html [^10]: Charns, David. "Eugene Horsch trial delayed amid missing women investigations." *NBC10 Philadelphia,* September 22, 2026. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/eugene-horsch-trial-delayed-amid-philadelphia-missing-women-investigations/4467226/ [^11]: Palmer, Chris. "A federal judge said he believes DA Larry Krasner may have broken the law, and he referred the case to the U.S. Attorney's Office," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* September 15, 2026, updated September 16, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/crime/paul-diamond-judge-larry-krasner-crimes-prosecution-20260915.html