--- title: "Alexander Coker Van Hook | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alexander-coker-van-hook" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Alexander Coker Van Hook U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American lawyer and judge who serves as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana since January 12, 2026 - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Judge · start date: 2026-01-12 · notes: Nominated by Donald J. Trump on October 21, 2025, to seat vacated by Elizabeth Erny Foote - Acting U.S. attorney — Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2020 · end year: 2025 - First assistant U.S. attorney — Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2010 · end year: 2025 - Assistant U.S. attorney — Western District of Louisiana · start year: 1999 · end year: 2025 - Special counsel to the U.S. attorney — Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2022 · end year: 2024 - Acting/interim U.S. attorney — Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2017 · end year: 2018 - Deputy criminal chief — U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2007 · end year: 2010 - Law clerk — Hon. Tom Stagg, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · start year: 1998 · end year: 1999 - Law clerk — Hon. Henry A. Politz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · start year: 1997 · end year: 1998 ### Education - Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center — J.D. (1997) - Centenary College — B.A. (1993) ### Additional information - Confirmed Jan 8, 2026 - Commission Jan 12, 2026 per FJC - Acting U.S. attorney, 2020-2021, 2025 - First assistant U.S. attorney, 2010-2017, 2018-2020, 2021-2022, 2024-2025 - Born 1970 in Shreveport, Louisiana. - As U.S. District Judge, Van Hook presides over cases in the Western District of Louisiana. - His work included prosecutions in public corruption, organized crime, drug enforcement, money laundering, and white-collar crime ## 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 ### 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/13762097) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762097) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762097) - [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) - [Judge Alexander Coker Van Hook](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762097) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alexander-coker-van-hook) - [Judge Alexander Coker Van Hook](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762097) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alexander-coker-van-hook", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/alexander-coker-van-hook", "name": "Alexander Coker Van Hook | KnowJudges", "description": "Alexander Coker Van Hook, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 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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.