Karoline Mehalchick

Judge Karoline Mehalchick serves as both a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the current Jurist in Residence at Widener University Commonwealth Law School. Appointed to the federal bench by President Biden in 2024, she previously served as a United States Magistrate Judge for over a decade, becoming the first woman judge in the Scranton vicinage of the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Her educational background includes a BA from the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University and a JD from Tulane University School of Law, where she participated in the Environmental Law Clinic. Prior to her judicial career, she worked as a partner at Oliver, Price & Rhodes law firm and served as an adjunct professor at Marywood University from 2003 to 2012.

Judge Mehalchick's professional focus spans judicial process, criminal law, prisoner rights, and reentry programs. She helped create the Prisoner Litigation Settlement Program and presides over the Scranton vicinage's CARE court, the district's reentry program. Her work on judicial ethics is evidenced by her appointment to the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

• PBA's Michael K. Smith Excellence in Service Award
• LBA's Margaret P. Gavin Award
• Pennsylvania 'Lawyers on the Fast Track' recognition
• PBA's Commission on Women in the Profession 'Woman Trailblazer'

While serving as Jurist in Residence, Judge Mehalchick contributes to legal education through her judicial expertise, though specific mentoring activities aren't detailed in the text. Her community engagement extends to the Ballet Theatre of Scranton (where she serves as Vice President of Production), various bar associations, and multiple community boards including Serving Seniors, Inc. and the Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School.