--- title: "Dana Lewis Christensen | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dana-l-christensen" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Dana Lewis Christensen U.S. District Court for the District of Montana · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Montana - State: Montana - Role: U.S. District 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, D. Montana, 2011-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana, having assumed senior status on November 7, 2025 - Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana (2011–2025) - After decades of private practice in Billings and Kalispell, he received his federal district court commission on December 6, 2011. - Partner, Christensen, Moore, Cockrell, Cummings & Axelberg, P.C., Kalispell, MT (1996–2011) He specialized in civil litigation, including insurance defense work - 1981–1996: Partner, Murphy, Robinson, Heckathorn & Phillips, P.C., Kalispell, MT - 1977–1981: Associate, Moulton, Bellingham, Longo & Mather, P.C., Billings, MT ### Education - University of Montana School of Law — J.D. (1976) - Dana L. Christensen earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1973 and law degree from the University of Montana in 1976. - Stanford University — B.A. (1973) ### Additional information - Chief judge from 2013 to March 2020. - Private practice, Kalispell, MT, 1981-2011 - Private practice, Billings, MT, 1977-1981 - Born March 23, 1951, New York City. - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - Birth place: New York, NY ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Courtroom Technology . The District of Montana provides electronic evidence presentation capabilities in the main courtrooms of each courthouse, as well as in Magistrate courtrooms in Billings, Great Falls, and Missoula. The courtrooms have document cameras for paper, x-ray or photographs, connections for computer-based evidence, ergonomic podiums and witness stands with touch-screen displays for annotation… [Courtroom Technology | District of Montana | United States District Court](https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1393876) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393876) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393876) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/616/dana-lewis-christensen/) - [Courtroom Technology | District of Montana | United States District Court](https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [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/616/dana-lewis-christensen/) - [Wikidata: Dana L. Christensen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5214771) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dana-l-christensen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dana-l-christensen", "name": "Dana Lewis Christensen | KnowJudges", "description": "Dana Lewis Christensen, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. 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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.