--- title: "Billy Wayne Lewis Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Billy Wayne Lewis Jr. U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama · United States District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama - State: Alabama - Role: United States District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American judge who serves as a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama since November 6, 2025 - Current position: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (2025–present) - Associate Justice, Alabama Supreme Court (May–Nov 2025) - Judge, Alabama Court of Civil Appeals (2024–2025) - Judge, 19th Judicial Circuit, Alabama (2016–2024) - Assistant district attorney, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Alabama, 2004-2005 - Assistant District Attorney, 19th Judicial Circuit (2004–2005) - Law clerk, Hon. John Bush, Alabama Circuit Court, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, 2003-2004 - Law clerk to Judge John Bush, 19th Judicial Circuit, Alabama (2003–2004) ### Education - Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in — J.D. (2003) - B.A. in economics from the University of the South in 2000 ### Additional information - On September 2, 2025, President Donald J. Trump nominated Lewis to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, succeeding. - 1, 2025 — 14–8 to report out - Private practice, Wetumpka, Alabama, 2005-2016 - He graduated valedictorian from Wetumpka High School in 1996. - Lewis was born in Darmstadt, West Germany in 1978. - Date of birth: 1978 - Commission issued: Nov. - Residence: Wetumpka, Alabama. - Senate cloture: Oct. - Confirmation: Oct. - Senate Judiciary Committee: Sept. - Lewis has extensive experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and litigator in civil, family, and administrative law, with a record of trying thousands of cases, including bench and jury trials and capital litigation United States District Court. - He has also served in leadership roles with the Alabama Circuit Judges Association and the Elmore County Bar Association, and is active in local organizations such as the River Region United Way and Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce United States District Court. - Committee vote: Oct. ## 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 ### 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/13762071) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762071) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762071) - [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) - [Lewis, Billy Wayne, Jr. | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/lewis-billy-wayne-jr) - [13762071](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762071) - [FJC Education relational dataset](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/education.csv) - [FJC Professional Career relational dataset](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/professional-career.csv) - [Middle District of Alabama - Directory](https://www.almd.uscourts.gov/directory) - [Lewis, Billy Wayne, Jr. | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/lewis-billy-wayne-jr) - [13762071](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762071) - [FJC Education relational dataset](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/education.csv) - [FJC Professional Career relational dataset](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/professional-career.csv) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr", "name": "Billy Wayne Lewis Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Billy Wayne Lewis Jr., U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr#judge", "name": "Billy Wayne Lewis Jr.", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr", "jobTitle": "United States District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762071" ], "birthDate": "1978", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of the South" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Cumberland School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Alabama", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/alabama" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Billy Wayne Lewis Jr.", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/billy-wayne-lewis-jr" } ] } ] } ``` ## Analytics The published one-year federal docket dataset through 2026-06-30 records 120 cases assigned to this judge and 2 terminated cases. - Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/ ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 120 | 2 | Not available | 2 | | 2y | 120 | 2 | Not available | 2 | | 5y | 120 | 2 | Not available | 2 | | 10y | 120 | 2 | Not available | 2 | 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.