DISTRICT COURT

JUDGES

 

THE COURT

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware comprises four Article Three Judges and three Magistrate Judges.  Combined, they have more than 50 years of experience in litigating patent disputes.  In the past, this District has had approximately 400 active patent cases at any one time.  With the ratification of the America Invents Act in September of 2011, that number has almost quadrupled to 1,480 open cases as of January 15, 2014.  With traditionally fair distribution of assignments, you can expect your case is 1 of 350 other patent cases assigned to your judge with a small number also being automatically assigned to the Magistrate Judges.  Case assignments are determined on Wednesdays and are made using the wheel or rotary method.  While our Article Three Judges are of varying ages and backgrounds, all have a connection with the U.S. Attorney’s Office during their careers.  You may find the following information, listed according to seniority, helpful:

 

SUE L. ROBINSON

Judge Robinson was appointed to the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush.  From 1978 to 1983, she worked in private practice at the law firm Potter Anderson & Corroon in Wilmington.  She became Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1983, and served as United States Magistrate Judge from 1988 to 1991 when she became an Article III judge.

 

GREGORY M. SLEET

Chief Judge Sleet was appointed to the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 1998 by President Bill Clinton and became Chief Judge on July 1, 2007.  From 1976 to 1983 he served as a Public Defender in Philadelphia.  From 1983 to 1990 he worked in private practice.  He became Deputy Attorney General, Major Civil Litigation Division, in Delaware from 1990 to 1992. Thereafter he became counsel for Hercules Inc. until 1994.  At that point, he served as U.S. Attorney until 1998 when he became an Article III judge.

 

LEONARD P. STARK

Judge Stark was appointed to the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 2010 by President Barack Obama having been formerly appointed as Magistrate Judge in 2007.  Judge Stark was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware from 2002 to 2007 and before that was an associate with the Wilmington office of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom.  During his tenure as Magistrate Judge, Judge Stark was able to assist with the gap left by an Article III vacancy and had taken on mediations as expected but also discovery, Markman, summary judgment and pretrial issues in many of the cases set before the vacant judgeship.  Consequently he was already experienced in patent litigation when he was appointed as an Article III judge.

 

RICHARD G. ANDREWS

Judge Andrews was appointed to the bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 2011 by President Barack Obama and was sworn in on November 8, 2011.  Judge Andrews was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware from 1983 to 2007 having been Acting U.S. Attorney for part of that period.  From 2007 to 2011 when he was appointed to the bench, Judge Andrews was the State Prosecutor for the Delaware Department of Justice.  Judge Andrews has already developed some of his own procedures which have evolved as he gains increasing experience with patent cases.

 

MARY PAT THYNGE

Judge Thynge was appointed as Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 1992.  From 1976 to 1989 she worked in private practice at the Wilmington law firm Biggs & Battaglia, and from 1989 to 1992 at White & Williams, specializing in medical malpractice defense.  The Article III judges routinely assign patent cases to Judge Thynge for mediation but she has additionally often been assigned the tasks of discovery disputes, summary judgment and Markman issues, pretrial and, in some instances, she has handled patent litigations all the way through trial.

 

CHRISTOPHER J. BURKE

Judge Burke was appointed as Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on August 4, 2011.  He was previously an Assistant United States Attorney from 2005 until his appointment as a Magistrate Judge.  Judge Burke is handling mediations in addition to occasional discovery disputes and other pretrial matters.

 

SHERRY R. FALLON

Judge Fallon was appointed as Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on April 25, 2012.  She was previously in private practice with the Delaware law firm Tybout, Redfearn & Pell concentrating on insurance coverage, product liability and employment litigation.  Please note that Judge Fallon is married to a Morris James’ bankruptcy partner.  She does not believe this creates a conflict with her mediation duties but leaves that issue to the parties to decide.  Given the number of patent cases in this district, she is already very familiar with patent litigation.  As with Judges Thynge and Burke, Judge Fallon is handling mediations along with occasional discovery disputes and other pretrial matters.