--- title: "Catherine D. Perry | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/catherine-d-perry" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Catherine D. Perry 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: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, E.D. Missouri, 1994-present - On July 15, 1994, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, filling the seat vacated by Judge Clyde S. Cahill - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, 1990-1994 - Perry held the role of a United States magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1990 to 1994 - Adjunct professor of law, Washington University School of Law, 1981-1984, 1991-1992, 1993-1994 - focusing on complex commercial litigation, and became the firm’s first female partner in 1987, remaining in private practice until 1990 ### Education - Washington University School of Law in St. Louis in — J.D. (1980) - University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus — B.A. (1977) ### Additional information - Member, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 2014-2021 - She also served on the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation from 2014 to 2021, reflecting her leadership in federal judicial administration - Perry held the role of chief judge from 2009 to 2015 and assumed senior status on December 31, 2018, allowing her to maintain a reduced caseload while continuing to serve - In 2014, she denied ACLU motions for temporary restraining orders against police officers enforcing a controversial “5-second rule” during protests, citing law enforcement’s need to protect property and the availability of a designated free-speech zone. - Private practice, St. Louis, MO, 1980-1990 - Private practice, St. Louis, Missouri, 1980-1990 - Date of birth: 1952-01-01 - received her commission the following day. - Following law school, Perry joined the St. Louis law firm Armstrong, Teasdale, Schlafly & Davis - Judge Perry presided over several significant cases, including rulings related to civil liberties in Ferguson, Missouri. - Birth place: Hobart, OK ## 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/1386251) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386251) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386251) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2543/catherine-d-perry/) - [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/2543/catherine-d-perry/) - [Judge Catherine D. Perry](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386251) - [Wikidata: Catherine D. Perry](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5052625) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/catherine-d-perry", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/catherine-d-perry", "name": "Catherine D. Perry | KnowJudges", "description": "Catherine D. Perry, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/catherine-d-perry#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/catherine-d-perry#judge", "name": "Catherine D. 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Perry", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/catherine-d-perry" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 47 | 9 | Not available | 9 | | 2y | 144 | 65 | 1.9 | 65 | | 5y | 357 | 262 | 4.3 | 262 | | 10y | 1057 | 962 | 4.6 | 962 | 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.