---
title: "Christine Patricia O'Hearn | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/christine-patricia-o-hearn"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Christine Patricia O'Hearn

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- State: New Jersey
- 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

- Judicial service: U.S. District Judge, D. New Jersey (2021–present)
- From 1993 to 2021, O’Hearn was a partner at Brown & Connery LLP in Haddonfield/Westmont, NJ, specializing in labor, employment, and complex civil litigation
- Christine Patricia O’Hearn (née McCall, born 1969 in Camden, New Jersey) is an American lawyer and United States district judge for the District of New Jersey, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021
- She also held the role of an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law–Camden (2006–2007) and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers

### Education

- Temple University School of Law (now James E. Beasley School of Law) — J.D. (1993)
- University of Delaware in — B.A. (1990)

### Additional information

- On April 29, 2021, President Biden nominated O’Hearn to replace Judge Robert B. Kugler, who had assumed senior status in 2018.
- Private practice, Westmont, New Jersey, 1992-2021
- Notably, she represented Gloucester County Institute of Technology in a sexual abuse case (2007), defended Gloucester Township Public Schools against racism claims (2011), and represented Pine Hill, NJ, in a sexual harassment case involving the mayor (2012)
- Date of birth: 1969
- Birth place: Camden

## 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/10894766)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10894766)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10894766)
- [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)
- [Judge Christine Patricia O'Hearn](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10894766)
- [Wikidata: Christine O'Hearn](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106648111)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 305 | 67 | 0.1 | 67 |
| 2y | 673 | 277 | 1.7 | 277 |
| 5y | 1716 | 1227 | 4.8 | 1227 |
| 10y | 1716 | 1227 | 4.8 | 1227 |

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.