---
alias:
- R. Barclay Surrick
- Barclay Surrick
category: Law Enforcement & Legal
created: 2026-09-23
location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
relations:
- fn: 1
  role: district judge
  start: 2000-06-05
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania]]'
- fn: 1
  reverse: true
  start: 2000-04-11
  type: appointed
  with: '[[Bill Clinton]]'
- end: 2000
  fn: 1
  role: judge
  start: 1978
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Delaware County Court of Common Pleas]]'
- end: 1974
  fn: 1
  role: chief, appellate division
  start: 1965
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Delaware County Public Defender''s Office]]'
summary: Delaware County judge appointed to the federal bench by Bill Clinton in 2000
  who presided over R.C. Horsch's 2009-2012 marijuana and firearms prosecution.
tags:
- Person
- Judge
- FederalJudiciary
- DelawareCounty
- RCHorsch
updated: 2026-09-23
---

R. Barclay Surrick (born 1937) is a judge of the [United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania](/organizations/united-states-district-court-for-the-eastern-district-of-pennsylvania/), appointed by [Bill Clinton](/people/bill-clinton/) in 2000. He presided over *United States v. Horsch*, No. 2:09-cr-00794, the prosecution of [R.C. Horsch](/people/rc-horsch/) for cultivating marijuana and possessing firearms at his house in New Britain Township, and in 2012 sentenced him to 54 months.[^1][^2][^3]

### Career

Surrick was born in Media, in Delaware County. He took a B.A. at Dickinson College in 1960, a J.D. at the Dickinson School of Law in 1965, and an LL.M. at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1982. He was in private practice in Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1977 and at the same time headed the appellate division of the Delaware County public defender's office from 1965 to 1974. He sat on the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas from 1978 to 2000. Clinton nominated him on April 11, 2000, to the seat vacated by Lowell A. Reed Jr.; he was confirmed on May 24 and commissioned on June 5, 2000, and took senior status on February 1, 2011.[^1]

### United States v. Horsch

The case was filed on December 15, 2009, charging Horsch with manufacturing 100 or more marijuana plants, and a bench warrant issued the same day. [Jerome Brown](/people/jerome-brown/) appeared for the defense in January 2010; the prosecutor was Assistant United States Attorney [Elizabeth F. Abrams](/people/elizabeth-f-abrams/), who filed notice of Horsch's prior drug convictions to enhance the sentence. On January 10, 2011, Horsch pleaded guilty to possessing 100 or more marijuana plants with intent to distribute, possessing a short-barreled shotgun in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Surrick sentenced him on June 28, 2012, and resentenced him on July 3 to 53 months on the drug and felon-in-possession counts and a consecutive month on the shotgun count, and entered a final order forfeiting the Airy Avenue house on October 22, 2012.[^2][^3]

[^1]: Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, "Surrick, R[ichard] Barclay." https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/surrick-richard-barclay
[^2]: *United States v. Horsch,* No. 2:09-cr-00794-RBS (E.D. Pa.), filed December 15, 2009; indictment (Doc. 1), order for bench warrant (Doc. 2), notices of appearance of Jerome M. Brown (Docs. 5 and 7), docket via CourtListener RECAP. https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=Horsch&type=r&court=paed
[^3]: *United States v. Horsch,* No. 2:09-cr-00794-RBS (E.D. Pa.), superseding indictment of January 26, 2010, information under 21 U.S.C. sec. 851 of December 23, 2010, change of plea of January 10, 2011, judgments of June 28 and July 3, 2012, and final order of forfeiture of October 22, 2012, docket via CourtListener RECAP. https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=Horsch&type=r&court=paed