--- title: "David Brock Hornby | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-brock-hornby" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # David Brock Hornby U.S. District Court for the District of Maine · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maine - State: Maine - 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 David Brock Hornby’s career spans legal academia, private practice, state-level judicial service, and federal judicial leadership, culminating in his role as Chief Judge of the District of Maine before retiring to senior status in 2010 - Judge, District Court, D. Maine, 1990-2010 - He later held the role of Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (1988–1990) - In 1982, he was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Maine, serving in Bangor and Portland until 1988 - He then taught law at the University of Virginia School of Law (1970–1974), becoming an associate professor in 1973 - Law clerk, Hon. John Minor Wisdom, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1969-1970 - Retired senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine - After law school, Hornby was a law clerk to Hon. ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1969) - J.D. cum laude in 1969 from Harvard Law School, where he held the role of Supreme Court Note and Developments Editor of the Harvard Law Review - University of Western Ontario — B.A. (1965) - University of Western Ontario — B.S. ### Additional information - Hornby assumed senior status on May 1, 2010, and was succeeded by Nancy Torresen - In 2008, Hornby received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award from the American Judicature Society - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2000-2003 - He held the role of Chief Judge from 1996 to 2003 - Judge, 1991-1991 - In 1990, President George H. W. Bush nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, a position confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 1990. - Practitioner, 1987-1987 - prof, 1987-1987 - Private practice, Portland, ME, 1974-1982 - Private practice, Portland, Maine, 1974-1982 - From 1974 to 1982, Hornby practiced law in Portland, Maine, with Perkins, Thompson, Hinckley & Keddy. - Born April 21, 1944, in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. - Date of birth: 1944-04-21 - Birth place: Brandon, Manitoba, Canada ## 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/1382406) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382406) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382406) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1519/david-brock-hornby/) - [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/1519/david-brock-hornby/) - [Hornby, David Brock](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382406) - [Wikidata: D. Brock Hornby](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5203512) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-brock-hornby", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-brock-hornby", "name": "David Brock Hornby | KnowJudges", "description": "David Brock Hornby, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. 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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.