--- title: "David C. Godbey | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-c-godbey" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # David C. Godbey U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas - State: Texas - 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, District Court, N.D. Texas, 2002-present - President George W. Bush nominated him to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on January 23, 2002, to fill the seat vacated by Judge Robert B. Maloney - Judge, Dallas County Texas One Hundred and Sixtieth District Court, 1994-2002 - He also worked as an electrical engineer at Texas Instruments prior to his legal career He held the role of a judge on the 160th District Court in Dallas County, Texas, from 1994 to 2002, before being nominated to the federal bench. - Following law school, he clerked for Judge Irving L. Goldberg of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1982 to 1983 Godbey then entered private practice in Dallas, Texas, working as an associate and later partner at Hughes & Luce LLP from 1983 to 1994 - Law clerk, Hon. Irving L. Goldberg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1982-1983 ### Education - a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University in 1978, and later received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1982, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review. - E.E. — Southern Methodist University — B.S. (1978) ### Additional information - received his commission on August 2, 2002. - Private practice, Dallas, TX, 1983-1994 - David Charles Godbey was born on September 17, 1957, in Temple, Texas. - Date of birth: 1957-01-01 - focusing on technology-related litigation, public law, and appeals. - Dedman School of Law - Birth place: Temple, TX ## 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/1391561) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391561) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391561) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1220/david-c-godbey/) - [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/1220/david-c-godbey/) - [Wikidata: David C. Godbey](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5232014) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-c-godbey", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-c-godbey", "name": "David C. Godbey | KnowJudges", "description": "David C. Godbey, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-c-godbey#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-c-godbey#judge", "name": "David C. 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Godbey", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/david-c-godbey" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 381 | 15 | 1.2 | 15 | | 2y | 690 | 143 | 2.7 | 143 | | 5y | 1542 | 933 | 5.5 | 933 | | 10y | 3242 | 2627 | 5.9 | 2627 | 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.