Teitelbaum was nominated by President Richard Nixon on November 24, 1970, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge Wallace Samuel Gourley. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 1970, and received his commission on December 12, 1970. He served as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1985. He assumed senior status on July 2, 1985. Teitelbaum served in that capacity until January 5, 1995, when he died of pneumonia at his home in Pittsburgh at the age of 79.
Controversy
In 1988, Teitelbaum became the subject of worldwide attention because of his behavior, during a trial, toward an attorney named Barbara Wolvovitz. Specifically, in a court proceeding on Friday, July 8, 1988, Judge Teitelbaum ordered Wolvovitz, who used her maiden name as her surname, to use instead her husband's surname as her surname. Judge Teitelbaum told Wolvovitz that, if she did not comply with his order, she would "sleep in the county jail" that night. He then held Wolvovitz's co-counsel, Jon Pushinsky, in contempt of court for objecting to his order, sentencing Pushinsky to 30 days in jail, with the sentence to begin after the conclusion of the trial. During the same proceeding, Judge Teitelbaum also barred Pushinsky from using the title "Ms." when referring to a particular woman who had testified, saying later in the proceeding, "I ordinarily do not allow anyone to use that 'Ms.' in this courtroom." When the trial reconvened on Monday, July 11, 1988, Wolvovitz moved for a mistrial. Judge Teitelbaum responded, "What if I call you sweetie?" He then said that he would address her as "counselor." He also vacated his contempt citation of Pushinsky. On Wednesday, July 13, 1988, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a front-page article about the court proceeding that had occurred the previous Friday. The following day, the Associated Press published an article about Judge Teitelbaum's conduct during the trial. Also on July 14, 1988, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an editorial denouncing Judge Teitelbaum's behavior, calling it "blatant verbal bullying" and "shockingly sexist treatment." On Friday, July 15, 1988, while the trial's jury was deliberating, Judge Teitelbaum apologized to Wolvovitz, saying, "I have always referred to married women by their married name. This is the way my generation was taught. I recognize your right to be addressed in any manner in which you see fit, and I apologize for my comments and the resulting situation." On November 10, 1988, Judge Teitelbaum said that, three weeks earlier, he had told Maurice Blanchard Cohill Jr., the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, that he would transfer most of his cases to other judges. He stated that he would keep his courtroom and would hear appeals in Social Security cases and appeals in criminal cases involving routine constitutional issues. Judge Teitelbaum said that he had taken this step "on own volition and not because of anything connected with Ms. Wolvovitz." He stated, "I'm 73 years old and I think it's about time I ease up my trial schedule. There's no other reason."
