---
title: "Beth P. Gesner | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/beth-p-gesner-maryland-us-magistrate"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Beth P. Gesner

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- State: Maryland
- Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-29

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Retired but recalled United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, serving from May 1999 until her retirement on August 31, 2023, and again since September 1, 2023
- Chief, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Maryland - Southern Division, 1997–1999
- Adjunct Professor, Columbus School of Law, 1990–1999
- Acting First Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Maryland, 1996-11–1997-05
- Chief, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Maryland - Southern Division, 1993–1996
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Maryland, 1987-04–1996-11
- Law Clerk, U.S. District Court - District of Columbia, 1983–1984 (to William Benson Bryant)
- Social Security appeals: Reversed and remanded when Administrative Law Judge’s analysis was inadequate under 42 U.S.C.. 405(g)
- Prior work included Law clerk to Hon

### Education

- Georgetown University Law Center, Associate Editor, The Tax Lawyer — cum laude — J.D. (1983)

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, D. Maryland, 1995-present
- Practitioner, 1984-10–1987-03, DC
- J.D. — Georgetown Univ. — 1983
- B.A. — Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania — 1979
- Date of birth: 1958
- Chief Magistrate Judge: Oct.
- Birth place: Pittsburgh, PA

## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=29)
- [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=29)
- [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=29)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9300/beth-p-gesner/)
- [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/9300/beth-p-gesner/)
- [BR/MAG Judge Database: Beth P. Gesner](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9300/beth-p-gesner/)
- [BR/MAG Judge Database: Beth P. Gesner](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json)

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## 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.
