--- title: "Deborah Lynn Boardman | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-lynn-boardman" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Deborah Lynn Boardman 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: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Maryland, 2021-present - American federal judge serving since June 25, 2021 as a United States District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate - U.S. Magistrate Judge, District of Maryland, 2019–2021 - Assistant public defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland, 2008-2019; first assistant public defender, 2015-2019 - Law clerk, Hon. James C. Cacheris, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2000-2001 - Law clerk to U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris (E.D. Va.), 2000–2001 ### Education - University of Virginia-Main Campus — J.D. (2000) - University of Virginia School of Law — J.D. (2000) - She graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University in 1996 with a B.A., then held the role of a Fulbright Scholar in Amman, Jordan (1996–1997). ### Additional information - Trump (June 2026), drew criticism from the White House, which labeled her an “activist judge” - On March 30, 2021, President Biden nominated Boardman to the District of Maryland bench, succeeding Richard D. Bennett. - Magistrate, District Court, D. Maryland, 2019-2021 - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 2001-2008 - Date of birth: 1974-01-01 - Birth place: Silver Springs, MD ## 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/10300021) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10300021) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10300021) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9293/deborah-l-boardman/) - [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/9293/deborah-l-boardman/) - [Judge Deborah Lynn Boardman](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10300021) - [Wikidata: Deborah Boardman](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106287225) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-lynn-boardman", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/deborah-lynn-boardman", "name": "Deborah Lynn Boardman | KnowJudges", "description": "Deborah Lynn Boardman, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. 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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.