--- title: "Barbara Brandriff Crabb | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/barbara-brandriff-crabb" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Barbara Brandriff Crabb U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin - State: Wisconsin - 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 - Chief Judge (1980–1996, 2001–2010) — first woman in the Seventh Circuit to hold this position - Judge, District Court, W.D. Wisconsin, 1979-2010 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and elevated to senior status in 2010 - U.S. District Judge (1979–2010) — appointed to a newly created seat, confirmed by the Senate on October 31, 1979 - Research assistant, ABA Project on Minimum Standards of Criminal Justice, 1970-1971 - The first woman in Wisconsin appointed as a U.S. Magistrate, the first woman in the Seventh Circuit appointed as a district judge, and the first woman by designation on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ### Education - Crabb graduated B.A. in 1960 and LL.B. in 1962 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. ### Additional information - Senior Judge since March 24, 2010. - She has been honored with an honorary degree from the University of Wisconsin, the Margo Melli Award (1971), and induction into the Hinsdale Central Foundation’s Hall of Fame (2006). - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 1971-1979 - U.S. Magistrate Judge (1971–1979) — first woman in Wisconsin appointed to this role. - Began her legal career in private practice in Madison (1962–1964), then held a position as a research assistant for the University of Wisconsin Law School (1968–1969) and the American Bar Association’s Project on Minimum Standards of Criminal Justice (1970–1971). - Research assistant, George Bunn, University of Wisconsin Law School, 1968-1969 - Private practice, Madison, WI, 1962-1964 - Born March 17, 1939, Green Bay, Wisconsin. - Date of birth: 1939-01-01 - Married to Ted Crabb, she is the mother of Julia and Philip, and grandmother of Sydney and Christopher. - She enjoys tennis, swimming, travel, gardening, and reading. - Birth place: Green Bay, WI ## 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/1379606) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379606) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379606) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/752/barbara-brandriff-crabb/) - [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/752/barbara-brandriff-crabb/) - [Wikidata: Barbara Brandriff Crabb](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4858771) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/barbara-brandriff-crabb", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/barbara-brandriff-crabb", "name": "Barbara Brandriff Crabb | KnowJudges", "description": "Barbara Brandriff Crabb, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. 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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.