--- title: "Allison Dale Burroughs | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/allison-dale-burroughs" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Allison Dale Burroughs U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts - State: Massachusetts - 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 - Judge, District Court, D. Massachusetts, 2014-present - American federal judge serving on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014 - From 2005 to 2014, she was a partner at Nutter McClennen & Fish in Boston - Began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge Norma L. Shapiro (E.D. Pa.) from 1988–1989, then held the role of an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1989–1995) and in the District of Massachusetts (1995–2005) - Law clerk, Hon. Norma L. Shapiro, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1988-1989 ### Education - J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1988 - B.A. cum laude from Middlebury College in 1983 - University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ### Additional information - On July 31, 2014, President Obama nominated Burroughs to replace Judge Rya W. Zobel, who had assumed senior status. - Private practice, Boston, MA, 2005-2014 - Born 1961. - Date of birth: 1961-01-01 - Birth place: Boston, MA ## 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/1394736) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394736) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394736) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/477/allison-dale-burroughs/) - [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/477/allison-dale-burroughs/) - [Wikidata: Allison Dale Burroughs](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17465768) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/allison-dale-burroughs", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/allison-dale-burroughs", "name": "Allison Dale Burroughs | KnowJudges", "description": "Allison Dale Burroughs, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 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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.