--- title: "Christina D. Comstock | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christina-d-comstock-arkansas-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Christina D. Comstock U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - State: Arkansas - 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. ## Biography ### Professional career - Her term as magistrate judge runs for eight years, and her current role as Chief Magistrate Judge began January 3, 2025, for a four-year period ending January 2, 2029 Western District of Arkansas - U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, appointed May 1, 2021, and designated Chief Magistrate Judge effective January 3, 2025, serving until January 2, 2029 - Federal magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, a position she assumed on May 1, 2021 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court - Western District of Arkansas, from 2021-05-01 - Selected through the federal merit selection process, replacing Magistrate Judge Erin L. Wiedemann, who retired Talk Business & Politics ### Education ### Additional information - Practitioner, Wales & Comstock, 2017-06–2021-06 - Chair, Arkansas Trucking Seminar, 2004–2018 - Practitioner, Everett Wales & Comstock, 2007-10–2017-06 - J.D. — Univ. of Arkansas — 1992 - B.A. — Univ. of Arkansas — 1989 — Economics - Practitioner, Jones Gilbreath Jackson & Moll - Magistrate judges preside over initial proceedings in criminal cases, misdemeanor trials, pretrial matters, and various civil and criminal proceedings, as well as conducting civil settlement conferences and disposing of civil cases Talk Business & Politics. - As Chief Magistrate Judge, Comstock oversees the administration of the magistrate judge system in the district, with duties assigned by the district’s Chief Judge Western District of Arkansas. ## 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=74) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=74) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=74) - [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) - [Official biography source for Christina D. Comstock](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=74) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Christina D. Comstock](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Official biography source for Christina D. Comstock](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=74) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Christina D. Comstock](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christina-d-comstock-arkansas-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christina-d-comstock-arkansas-us-magistrate", "name": "Christina D. Comstock | KnowJudges", "description": "Christina D. Comstock, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. 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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-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.