--- title: "Barbara Jacobs Rothstein | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/barbara-jacobs-rothstein" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Barbara Jacobs Rothstein U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington - State: Washington - 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, W.D. Washington, 1980-2011 - Senior United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington, appointed in 1980 and elevated to senior status in 2011 - Chief Judge of the Western District of Washington (1987–1994) - Judge, Superior Court of the State of Washington, King County, 1977-1980 - Adjunct professor, University of Washington Law School, 1975-1977 - Assistant attorney general and chief trial attorney, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division, State of Washington, 1968-1977 - Assistant Attorney General & Chief Trial Attorney for Washington’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division (1968–1977) ### Education - Harvard University — LL.B. (1966) - Harvard Law School in, where she won the Ames Moot Court competition — J.D. (1966) - Cornell University in (Phi Beta Kappa) — B.A. (1960) ### Additional information - 1, 2011; currently serves by designation on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - Director, Federal Judicial Center, 2003-2011 - 3, 1979, to a new seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington - Private practice, Boston, MA, 1966-1968 - Private practice, Boston, Massachusetts, 1966-1968 - Born 1939 in Brooklyn, New York. - Date of birth: 1939-01-01 - Senior status since Sept. - Confirmed by the Senate Feb. - Nominated by President Jimmy Carter on Dec. - She is a member of the American Law Institute, serves on the Board of the Institute of Judicial Administration at NYU Law School, and has contributed to numerous national and international judicial education initiatives. - Birth place: Brooklyn, NY ## 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/1387206) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387206) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387206) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2796/barbara-jacobs-rothstein/) - [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/2796/barbara-jacobs-rothstein/) - [Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387206) - [Wikidata: Barbara Jacobs Rothstein](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4859014) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/barbara-jacobs-rothstein", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/barbara-jacobs-rothstein", "name": "Barbara Jacobs Rothstein | KnowJudges", "description": "Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. 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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.