--- title: "Debra C. Poplin | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/debra-c-poplin-tennessee-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Debra C. Poplin U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee - State: Tennessee - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Debra C. Poplin has held the role of a magistrate judge since February 13, 2018, appointed by the district court to a renewable eight‐year term - U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, appointed in 2018 to an 8‐year renewable term - Clerk of the Court, U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Tennessee, 2012-01-01–2018-02-13 - City Law Director, City of Knoxville, 2008-01–2012-01-01 - Deputy Law Director, U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Tennessee, 2001–2008 - Deputy Law Director, U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Tennessee, 1990–1999 - Biographical data: Available via the Free Law Project’s judge database ### Education ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, E.D. Tennessee, 2018-present - Practitioner, Ritchi, Fels & Dillard, 1999–2001 - J.D. — Univ. of Cincinnati — 1990 - B.A. — Univ. of Tennessee at Knoxville — 1987 - Birth place: Knoxville, TN ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=62) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=62) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=62) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9546/debra-c-poplin/) - [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/9546/debra-c-poplin/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Debra C. Poplin](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9546/debra-c-poplin/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Debra C. Poplin](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/debra-c-poplin-tennessee-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/debra-c-poplin-tennessee-us-magistrate", "name": "Debra C. Poplin | KnowJudges", "description": "Debra C. Poplin, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. 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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-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.