--- title: "Brian Curtis Wimes | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brian-curtis-wimes" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Brian Curtis Wimes U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - State: Missouri - 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 - American federal judge serving on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri and, since January 1, 2026, as Chief Judge of the Western District of Missouri - Judge, District Court, E.D. Missouri, 2012-present - Judge, District Court, W.D. Missouri, 2012-present - In 2026, Wimes became Chief Judge of the Western District of Missouri - 2007–2012: Circuit Court Judge in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Jackson County, Missouri - On September 22, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Wimes to the U.S. District Court for both the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, a position created by law to allow one judge to serve both districts - Drug court commissioner, Circuit Court of Missouri, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, 2001-2007 - 2001–2007: Drug Court Commissioner in Jackson County - Assistant prosecutor, Jackson County, MO, 1995-2001 - Attorney Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons Litigation Branch (1994–1995) ### Education - He then attended the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, graduating with a — J.D. (1994) - B.G.S. — University of Kansas — 1990 - Bachelor of General Studies in political science from the University of Kansas in 1990. - Metropolitan Community College ### Additional information - Attorney advisor, Litigation Branch, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 1994-1995 - Born January 18, 1966, in Kansas City, Missouri. - Date of birth: 1966-01-01 - Wimes’ career reflects a progression from state-level judicial and prosecutorial work to a federal judgeship, with a focus on both criminal and civil matters - Birth place: Kansas City, MO ## 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/1393956) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393956) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393956) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3508/brian-curtis-wimes/) - [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/3508/brian-curtis-wimes/) - [Wikidata: Brian C. Wimes](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4963247) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brian-curtis-wimes", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brian-curtis-wimes", "name": "Brian Curtis Wimes | KnowJudges", "description": "Brian Curtis Wimes, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 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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.