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Gary L. Lancaster

United States District Court for the
Western District of Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Born: Brownsville, Pennsylvania-August 14, 1949.
Education: Slippery Rock State College (B.S. 1971); University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D. 1974).
Judge Gary L. Lancaster was appointed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President Clinton on November 20, 1993.

Judge Lancaster was raised in Brownsville, Pennsylvania where the value of hard work, self-discipline and self-confidence was instilled in him by his parents. His father managed a state-owned liquor store. His mother was a bank teller who returned to college after retirement and received her bachelor's degree at the age of 72.

Judge Lancaster decided to become a lawyer because of the civil rights movement. He states:

Although Martin Luther King was inspirational, Thurgood Marshall won Brown v. Board of Education. I thought that a career in law would afford me the best opportunity to effect social change.

Judge Lancaster began his professional career by serving as regional counsel for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and as an Assistant District Attorney for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In 1978, he entered private practice specializing in criminal and civil litigation. He was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge and took the oath of office on October 23, 1987. He was appointed to the district court in 1993.

Judge Lancaster currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Slippery Rock University Foundation and is a member of various civic, religious and charitable groups. He is also the author of several law-related articles and other published works.

Judge Lancaster considers being a judge "the best of all worlds," a place where he can combine "the intellectual aspect of law as a philosophy, the drama in the courtroom, and the interaction with real people with real stories."