--- title: "Anne Elise Thompson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/anne-elise-thompson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Anne Elise Thompson U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey - State: New Jersey - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. New Jersey, 1979-2001 - Prosecutor, Mercer County, NJ, 1975-1979 - Judge, Trenton New Jersey Municipal Court, 1972-1975 - Municipal court judge, Trenton, NJ (1972–1975) - Attorney, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Chicago, IL, 1964-1965 - Anne Elise Thompson (née Jenkins; born July 8, 1934) is a retired senior federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, notable as the first woman and first African American federal judge in New Jersey ### Education ### Additional information - Confirmed by the Senate on October 31, 1979 and commissioned on November 2, 1979 She held the role of Chief Judge from 1994 to 2001 and assumed senior status on June 1, 2001 - On September 28, 1979, President Jimmy Carter nominated Thompson to a newly created seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. - Also active in legal organizations, including serving as chair of the juvenile justice committee of the National District Attorneys Association (1978–1979) - Municipal prosecutor, Lawrence Township, Lawrenceville, NJ, 1970-1972 - Assistant deputy public defender for Mercer-Somerset-Hunterdon region, Trenton, NJ, 1967-1970 - Grant writer, United Progress, Incorporated, 1966-1967 - Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Leroy H. Jenkins (dentist) and Mary E. Jackson, Thompson obtained a B.A. from Howard University (1955), an M.A. from Temple University (1957), and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law (1964) - Date of birth: 1934-01-01 - Birth place: Philadelphia, PA ## 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/1388736) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388736) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388736) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3210/anne-elise-thompson/) - [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/3210/anne-elise-thompson/) - [Wikidata: Anne Elise Thompson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4768309) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/anne-elise-thompson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/anne-elise-thompson", "name": "Anne Elise Thompson | KnowJudges", "description": "Anne Elise Thompson, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. 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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.