Draft:Joseph F. Saporito Jr.

Joseph F. Saporito Jr. (born March 8, 1960) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania since February 2024, while concurrently serving as a magistrate judge since 2015. He is a nominee to serve as a United States district judge of the same court.

Education
Saporito earned a Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from the Dickinson School of Law in 1985.

Career
From 1985 to 2015, Saporito served as a part-time assistant public defender in the Office of the Public Defender for Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; he also was in private legal practice at Saporito & Saporito and then Saporito, Saporito & Falcone, in Pittston.

Federal judicial service
Saporito assumed office as a United States magistrate judge on February 12, 2015. He was sworn into office on April 16, 2015 by Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner.

Nomination to U.S. district court
Saporito was recommended to the Biden administration by Senators Bob Casey Jr. and John Fetterman. On May 8, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Saporito to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. On May 14, 2024, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Saporito to the seat vacated by Judge Malachy E. Mannion, who assumed senior status on January 3, 2024. On June 5, 2024, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On July 11, 2024, his nomination was favorably reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by an 14–7 vote. His nomination is pending before the United States Senate.