--- title: "Deborah K. Chasanow | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-k-chasanow" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Deborah K. Chasanow U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland - State: Maryland - 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 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, having assumed senior status on October 3, 2014 - Judge, District Court, D. Maryland, 1993-2014 - U.S. District Judge (1993–2014): Nominated by President Bill Clinton on August 6, 1993; confirmed by the Senate on October 18, 1993; commissioned October 20, 1993 - Assistant attorney general, State of Maryland, 1975-1987 - Worked at Washington, D.C. firm Cole and Groner (Private Practice (1975)) - Law clerk to Judge David L. Cahoon of the Montgomery County Circuit Court, Maryland, from 1974 to 1975 District of Maryland ### Education - Rutgers University-New Brunswick — B.A. (1970) ### Additional information - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1975-present - Chief Judge (2010–2014): Served in this role until stepping down to senior status - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, 1987-1993 - chief, Criminal Appeals Division, 1979-1987 - She is admitted to the Maryland Bar (1974), District of Columbia Bar (1975), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1976), and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar (1979). - Born April 23, 1948 in Washington, D.C., Chasanow earned her B.A. in 1970 from Douglass College of Rutgers University (Phi Beta Kappa) and her J.D. in 1974 from Stanford Law School. - Date of birth: 1948-01-01 - She has served on the Maryland State Bar Association’s criminal law and litigation committees, and is a past president of the Marlborough American Inn of Court - Birth place: Washington, DC ## 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/1379016) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379016) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379016) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/590/deborah-k-chasanow/) - [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/590/deborah-k-chasanow/) - [Wikidata: Deborah K. Chasanow](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5248283) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-k-chasanow", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-k-chasanow", "name": "Deborah K. Chasanow | KnowJudges", "description": "Deborah K. Chasanow, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. 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/deborah-k-chasanow#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-k-chasanow#judge", "name": "Deborah K. 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Chasanow", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-k-chasanow" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 120 | 4 | Not available | 4 | | 2y | 265 | 82 | 3.4 | 82 | | 5y | 652 | 407 | 5.1 | 407 | | 10y | 1405 | 1135 | 7.1 | 1135 | 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.