--- title: "Benjamin Joel Beaton | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-03" --- # Benjamin Joel Beaton U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky - State: Kentucky - 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 - Active judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, appointed by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2020 - Law clerk, Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court of the United States, 2011-2012 - Law clerk to Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court (2011–2012) - Law clerk, Hon. A. Raymond Randolph, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 2009-2010 - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky — seated in Louisville, KY ### Education - Columbia Law School — J.D. (2009) - Centre College — B.A. (2003) ### Additional information - Private practice, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2018-2020 - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 2010-2011, 2012-2018 - Born 1981 in Paducah, Kentucky. - Date of birth: 1981 - Paducah Tilghman High School - Birth place: Paducah ## 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/9210651) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/9210651) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/9210651) - [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) - [Judge Benjamin Joel Beaton](https://www.fjc.gov/node/9210651) - [Wikidata: Benjamin J. Beaton](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q98310125) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton", "name": "Benjamin Joel Beaton | KnowJudges", "description": "Benjamin Joel Beaton, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-08-03", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton#judge", "name": "Benjamin Joel Beaton", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/9210651" ], "birthDate": "1981", "birthPlace": "Paducah", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Centre College" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Columbia Law School" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Paducah Tilghman High School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Kentucky", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/kentucky" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benjamin Joel Beaton", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benjamin-joel-beaton" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 353 | 14 | 2.8 | 14 | | 2y | 549 | 62 | 3 | 62 | | 5y | 1068 | 475 | 7.7 | 475 | | 10y | 1196 | 600 | 8.2 | 600 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. 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.