--- title: "Benjamin Hale Settle | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-hale-settle" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # Benjamin Hale Settle 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, 2007-present - Before joining the federal judiciary, he practiced law in Washington in 1972 and again from 1976 to 2007, and held the role of a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1973 to 1976. - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington - Current role: Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ### Education - Willamette University College of Law — J.D. (1972) - Claremont McKenna College — B.A. (1969) ### Additional information - Private practice, Washington, 1972-present - Service: held the role of a judge until January 1, 2020, when he assumed senior status. - Appointed: Nominated by President George W. Bush on January 9, 2007, to a seat vacated by Judge Frank Burgess. - Confirmed: By the U.S. Senate on June 28, 2007; commissioned July 2, 2007. - Private practice, Washington, 1976-2007 - U.S. Army, JAG Corps, 1973-1976 - Born 1947 in Olympia, Washington. - Date of birth: 1947-01-01 - Before judicial service, Settle was partner in Settle & Johnson PLLC - focusing on civil litigation, business, municipal, and real property law. - He also held the role of general counsel for multiple public and private entities, including Mason General Hospital and Mason County Public Utility Districts. - Birth place: Olympia, WA ## 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/1392576) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392576) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392576) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2911/benjamin-hale-settle/) - [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/2911/benjamin-hale-settle/) - [Wikidata: Benjamin Hale Settle](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4888754) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-hale-settle", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-hale-settle", "name": "Benjamin Hale Settle | KnowJudges", "description": "Benjamin Hale Settle, 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.