--- title: "Brenda Kay Sannes | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brenda-k-sannes" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Brenda Kay Sannes U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York - State: New York - 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 - The Chief United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York, a position she has held since August 31, 2022 - Judge, District Court, N.D. New York, 2014-present - In August 2026, Judge Sannes ruled that the 2024 New York Climate Change Superfund Act—a law taxing fossil fuel companies to fund climate adaptation projects—could not be enforced, finding it “beyond the limits of state law” - Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of New York, 1995-2014 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Central District of California, 1988-1995 - Law clerk, Hon. Jerome Farris, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1983-1984 - Official site: Northern District of New York – Judge Brenda K. Sannes Northern District of New York ### Education - English, Carleton College — magna cum laude — B.A. (1980) - University of Wisconsin Law School ### Additional information - high intensity drug trafficking coordinator and deputy chief, Narcotics Section, 1994-present - Syracuse office manager, 2010-2014 - chief, Appellate Division, 2005-2014 - Private practice, Los Angeles, CA, 1984-1988 - Born 1958 in Billings, Montana. - Date of birth: 1958-01-01 - Birth place: Billings, MT ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . Requests for use of an evidence presentation system either through the use of the court's equipment, or through an outside vendor, should be discussed in pre-trial proceedings with the judge or with opposing counsel in as far in advance of the trial date as possible. In civil cases, reserving the court's equipment as soon… [Courtroom Technology | Northern District of New York | United States District Court](https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Courtroom Technology . Courtroom Technology FAQ . QUESTION 1: Which courtrooms have Video Evidence Technology available? [Courtroom Technology FAQ | Northern District of New York | United States District Court](https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology-faq) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1394666) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394666) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394666) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2840/brenda-kay-sannes/) - [Courtroom Technology | Northern District of New York | United States District Court](https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [Courtroom Technology FAQ | Northern District of New York | United States District Court](https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology-faq) - [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/2840/brenda-kay-sannes/) - [Wikidata: Brenda K. Sannes](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16875285) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brenda-k-sannes", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brenda-k-sannes", "name": "Brenda Kay Sannes | KnowJudges", "description": "Brenda Kay Sannes, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. 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[Official source](https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/sites/nynd/files/local_rules/Local%20Rules%202026_Final.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [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.