---
title: "Charles D Austin | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/charles-d-austin-maryland-us-magistrate"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Charles D Austin

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.

## 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=28)
- [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=28)
- [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=28)
- [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)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Charles D. Austin is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Maryland, sworn in on October 23, 2023
- In 2023, he joined the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division as a trial attorney in the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, enforcing fair housing and land use laws
- He then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland (2018–2023), prosecuting a wide range of federal criminal offenses, including firearms violations, public corruption, murder, drug trafficking, and white-collar crimes
- He clerked for Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Judge Roger L. Gregory of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Before his judicial appointment, Judge Austin worked in private practice at Crowell & Moring (2014–2018), litigating civil and criminal matters in federal and state courts

### Education

- B.A. in journalism from Temple University and later obtained his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he was a member of the National Trial Team, editor of the Maryland Law Review, and vice president of the Black Law Students Association

### Additional information

- Sworn in as a Magistrate Judge on October 23, 2023, and has since presided over cases including Social Security appeals and other federal matters
- Charles D. Austin was born and raised in Maryland
- He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a member of the Maryland State Bar Association



## 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.
