He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 from Princeton University.

He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1966 to 1972, attaining the rank of Captain.

He served as a law clerk for Judge John Morgan Davis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, from 1965 to 1967.

[1] Bartle was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on May 15, 1991, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania vacated by Judge Joseph Leo McGlynn, Jr.

He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 2008 to 2011.