--- title: "Beryl Alaine Howell | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/beryl-alaine-howell" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Beryl Alaine Howell U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - State: District of Columbia - 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, District of Columbia, 2010-present - Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of New York, 1987-1993 - Law clerk, Hon. Dickinson R. Debevoise, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1983-1984 ### Education - Columbia Law School — J.D. (1983) - Bryn Mawr College — B.A. (1978) ### Additional information - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2016-2023 - Commissioner, U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2004-2013 - Executive managing director and general counsel, Stroz Friedberg, 2003-2009 - general counsel, 1997-2003 - U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 1993-2003 - senior counsel, 1993-1996 - Private practice, New York City, 1985-1987 - Date of birth: 1956-01-01 - Birth place: Fort Benning, GA ## 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/1393581) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393581) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393581) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1536/beryl-alaine-howell/) - [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/1536/beryl-alaine-howell/) - [Judge Beryl Alaine Howell](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393581) - [Wikidata: Beryl Howell](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4896059) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/beryl-alaine-howell", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/beryl-alaine-howell", "name": "Beryl Alaine Howell | KnowJudges", "description": "Beryl Alaine Howell, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 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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.