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E.D. Pa. · Judge Bartle · Practice Guide

Hon. Harvey Bartle III

Verified 2026-10-25verify at the court's site ↗

All local rules for E.D. Pa., integrated with this judge's published requirements.

Drafting the Motion
Length limits — motion, opposition, reply
🏛 E.D. Pa. local rule
Motion

Silent on page limits for civil motions. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1 (silent) ↗

Opposition

Silent on page limits for opposition briefs. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1 (silent) ↗

Reply

Silent on page limits for reply briefs. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1 (silent) ↗

👤 Judge Bartle — standing order
Motion

Except with leave of Court for good cause shown, no supporting brief and no brief in opposition shall exceed twenty-five (25) pages and no reply brief shall exceed fifteen (15) pages.

Opposition

Except with leave of Court for good cause shown, no supporting brief and no brief in opposition shall exceed twenty-five (25) pages and no reply brief shall exceed fifteen (15) pages.

Filing & Scheduling
Briefing schedule & hearing date
🏛 E.D. Pa. local rule
Notice period

Unless the Court directs otherwise, any party opposing the motion shall serve a brief in opposition together with such answer or other response that may be appropriate, within fourteen (14) days after service of the motion and supporting brief. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1(c) ↗

Hearing days

Silent on motion hearing dates. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1 (silent) ↗

Chambers / courtesy copies
👤 Judge Bartle — standing order
Standing order

A copy of same shall be delivered to Judge Bartle's chambers, including documents which are submitted using the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system.

Details

The originals of all motions and briefs shall be filed with the Clerk. A copy of same shall be delivered to Judge Bartle's chambers, including documents which are submitted using the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) system.

Proposed orders
🏛 E.D. Pa. local rule

(a) Every motion shall be accompanied by a form of order which, if approved by the court, would grant the relief sought by the motion. Every response in opposition to a motion shall be accompanied by a form of order, which, if approved by the court, will deny or amend the relief sought by the motion. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1(a) ↗

The Hearing
Oral argument
🏛 E.D. Pa. local rule

(f) Any interested party may request oral argument on a motion. The court may dispose of a motion without oral argument. E.D. Pa. L.R. 7.1(f) ↗

Discovery
Discovery referral procedure
🏛 E.D. Pa. local rule

II. Assignment of Matters to Magistrate Judges in Civil Matters. In General. In accordance with procedures adopted by the Board of Judges, each district judge shall have an assigned magistrate judge. Matters shall be referred to magistrate judges at the direction of the district judge to whom the case is assigned. E.D. Pa. L.R. 72.1(II) ↗

Know Before You Go
👤 Judge Bartle — deviations that burn people
  • Discovery disputes must first be worked out between counsel in good faith -- only then may the aggrieved party file a motion, and that motion is capped at a five-page brief with a form of order and the Local Rule 26.1(f) certification attached; skipping the certification or exceeding five pages invites rejection.
  • No further briefs or extensions are permitted after the reply without leave of Court for good cause shown -- do not file a sur-reply as of right.
  • A courtesy copy of every motion and brief must be delivered to chambers, even when the document was filed through ECF -- electronic filing alone does not satisfy the chambers-copy requirement.
  • Correspondence to the Court is limited to scheduling and extension requests; Judge Bartle will not accept letters in lieu of a formal motion on a contested or substantive matter.
  • There is no standing motion day -- oral argument and evidentiary hearings are scheduled ad hoc and are not granted automatically; request argument affirmatively if you want it.
content assembled from published local rules & standing orders · click any section in the rail for the full treatment
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