---
title: "Aleta Arthur Trauger | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/aleta-a-trauger"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Aleta Arthur Trauger

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- State: Tennessee
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, District Court, M.D. Tennessee, 1998-present
- American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee since October 22, 1998
- U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Middle District of Tennessee, 1993-1998
- Legal counsel, College of Charleston, 1984-1985
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Middle District of Tennessee, 1980-1982
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 1979-1980
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Middle District of Tennessee, 1977-1979

### Education

- Vanderbilt University — J.D. (1976)
- T. — Vanderbilt University — M.A. (1972)
- Cornell College
- Vanderbilt University Law School

### Additional information

- Chief of staff, Mayor Phil Bredesen, Nashville, TN, 1991-1992
- Private practice, 1985-1991
- Private practice, 1983-1984
- Clerk and associate, private practice, TN, 1974-1977
- Date of birth: 1945-01-01
- Birth place: Denver, CO

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### presentation procedure

Scope: judge specific

Judge-specific source

Evidence excerpt: Use of Exhibits Counsel who wish to use exhibits or demonstrative evidence in opening statement should consult with opposing counsel in advance and attempt to work out any objections. Counsel should also request permission from the judge to use exhibits or demonstrative evidence in opening statements. As a general rule, exhibits to which no counsel…

[Microsoft Word - Practice and Procedures Manual _Trauger_ with renumbering FINAL 9-5-2006.doc](https://www.tnmd.uscourts.gov/sites/tnmd/files/trauger-rulea2025.11.05.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-24

### civil remote testimony

Scope: courtwide

In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.

Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.

[Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### criminal recording and broadcasting

Scope: courtwide

Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.

Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.

[Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390866)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390866)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390866)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3253/aleta-arthur-trauger/)
- [Microsoft Word - Practice and Procedures Manual _Trauger_ with renumbering FINAL 9-5-2006.doc](https://www.tnmd.uscourts.gov/sites/tnmd/files/trauger-rulea2025.11.05.pdf)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3253/aleta-arthur-trauger/)
- [Wikidata: Aleta Arthur Trauger](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4716494)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 464 | 9 | Not available | 9 |
| 2y | 844 | 117 | 3.3 | 117 |
| 5y | 1865 | 946 | 6.4 | 946 |
| 10y | 4324 | 3383 | 4.8 | 3383 |

Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/


## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
