Lynne A. Sitarski
How Judge Sitarski rules, drawn from 19 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Sitarski
Lynne A. Sitarski has served as a United States magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania since 2007. She was reappointed to another eight-year term in 2023 and earned her law degree from Temple University.
Judge Sitarski's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Sitarski, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Copy all counsel on communications to the court, except settlement conference documents.
“Except for settlement conference documents, everything sent to the Court must also be sent to all counsel of record, and be served in the same manner.”
Contacting chambers
Do not ask chambers for the status of a pending motion.
“Counsel should never contact Chambers to inquire on the status of a pending motion.”
Motions
Get permission before filing a surreply.
“Judge Sitarski will not normally permit surreply briefs, and counsel who wish to file a surreply must first seek permission of the Court”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026).
- Standing Order on Procedure for Case Opening ↗
- Standing Order on Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Access and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Filing Procedures in Alien Detainee Cases ↗
- Second Amended Standing Order on Guilty Pleas and Sentencing ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Document Submission for Unrepresented Litigants ↗
- Standing Procedural Order for Cases Seeking Social Security Review ↗
- Superseding Standing Order on Procedural Matters in Pro Se Civil and Habeas Cases ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Access to Civil and Criminal Transcripts ↗
How Judge Sitarski decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Thomas v. Kijakazi, Sitarski granted the claimant’s request for review and remanded the Social Security appeal for further proceedings.
“Plaintiff's Request for Review (ECF No. 10) is GRANTED, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this memorandum.”
Procedural preferences
In Suny v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Sitarski recommended denying the habeas petition. District Judge DuBois overruled the petitioner’s objections, adopted her recommendation, and dismissed the petition.
“The Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski dated November 4, 2013, is APPROVED and ADOPTED; ... Petitioner's Objections to the Report and Recommendation are OVERRULED; ... The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. 2254 is DENIED and DISMISSED”
In one discovery fee dispute, the court limited recovery to work opposing the challenged sanctions motion and reduced hours it found excessive given the motion’s uncomplicated issues. It ordered counsel responsible for the motion to pay the resulting fee award.
“Particularly given the overall uncomplicated nature of the issues raised in this discovery dispute, the Court halves Plaintiff’s time spent on the response to 6.8 hours, for a total of $2,074.”
Cautions
In Becker v. Kijakazi, Sitarski denied review of an ALJ’s disability decision after finding substantial evidence supported the assessed physical and mental limitations and the evaluation of the claimant’s reported symptoms.
“I find that the ALJ's findings are supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, Plaintiff's request for review is DENIED.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff's Request for Review (ECF No. 10) is GRANTED, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this memorandum.”
“Plaintiff's request for review is GRANTED to the extent that it requests remand. This matter is remanded to the Commissioner for further proceedings.”
“I find that the ALJ's findings are supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, Plaintiff's request for review is DENIED.”
“the Commissioner's motion to remand is GRANTED. Upon remand, the ALJ will evaluate Dr. Sedacca's opinion, order a consultative mental examination of Plaintiff, hold a new administrative hearing, further assess Plaintiff's RFC and issue another decision”
“I will adopt Judge Sitarski's R&R ... On May 14, 2024, Judge Sitarski issued an R&R recommending that I dismiss Mr. Good's petition because his first three claims are unexhausted and procedurally defaulted, and his last claim is non-cognizable in habeas. ... I will approve and adopt Judge Sitarski's R&R and overrule those objections.”
“The Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski dated November 4, 2013, is APPROVED and ADOPTED; ... Petitioner's Objections to the Report and Recommendation are OVERRULED; ... The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. 2254 is DENIED and DISMISSED”
“Plaintiff's Request for Review is GRANTED; 2. This matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings”
“Plaintiff's Request for Review is GRANTED; 2. This matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings”
“Plaintiff's Request for Review is DENIED; and 2. Judgment is entered in favor of Defendant.”
“Plaintiff's Request for Review is DENIED; and 2. Judgment is entered in favor of Defendant.”
“Plaintiff's Request for Review is GRANTED; 2. This matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings”
“Plaintiff's Request for Review is DENIED; and 2. Judgment is entered in favor of Defendant.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 3 |
| Mar 2023 | 3 | 4 |
| Sep 2022 | 1 | 5 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 2 | 1 |
| Mar 2021 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, not for Judge Sitarski: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,952 | 3.2 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,834 | 4.7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 898 | 10 months |
| Closed during trial | 46 | 17.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 6,200 | 4.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,595 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 5,221 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 5,245 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2020 | 4,686 | 5.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,374 | 6 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
Draft for Judge Sitarski with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Sitarski, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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