--- title: "Dee D. Drell | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dee-d-drell" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Dee D. Drell U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Louisiana, 2003-present - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Senior Judge · start date: 2017-11-30 · notes: Assumed senior status Nov 30, 2017; based in Alexandria, Rapides Parish; full name Dee Dodson Drell per OpenJurist secondary - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Chief Judge · start date: 2012 · end date: 2017 · notes: Served as chief judge 2012-2017 per FJC - He held the role of chief judge of the Western District of Louisiana from 2012 to 2017 and assumed senior status on November 30, 2017 - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Judge · start date: 2003-04-10 · end date: 2017-11-29 · notes: Nominated by George W. Bush on Jan 15, 2003 to seat vacated by F.A. Little, Jr - Attorney — U.S. Army, JAG Corps · start year: 1971 · end year: 1975 - After law school, Drell served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1971 to 1975, including time in Columbus, Georgia. ### Education - Tulane University of Louisiana — J.D. (1971) - Juris Doctor in 1971, both from Tulane University and Tulane University Law School, respectively - Tulane University of Louisiana — B.A. (1968) ### Additional information - Nominated by President George W. Bush on January 15, 2003, to fill the seat vacated by Judge F.A. Little Jr. - received his commission on April 10, 2003. - Confirmed Apr 9, 2003 - Commission Apr 10, 2003 - Attorney — Private practice, Louisiana · start year: 1975 · end year: 2003 - He then entered private legal practice in Alexandria, Louisiana, in 1975, where he worked for decades before his judicial appointment. - Bachelor of Arts in anthropology in 1968 - Date of birth: 1947-01-01 - Dee D. Drell has had a distinguished career as a federal judge, combining military service, private practice, and decades on the bench. - His work has included oversight of civil rights compliance in education and leadership as chief judge, while also drawing attention in discussions of judicial ethics and financial disclosures - Drell was active in state and local bar associations, assisted with attorney disciplinary matters, and served on boards such as the Family Mediation Council of Louisiana and the Rapides Parish Indigent Defender Board - Birth place: New Orleans, LA ## 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: Page 1 of 2 (Rev. 2/15/07) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA ALEXANDRIA DIVISION STANDING ORDER POSESSION AND USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE COURTROOM No electronic device, including but not limited to cellular phones, pagers, laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) may be brought into or used in the Alexandria courthouse… [LAWD_DDD_SO_Electronic_Devices.pdf](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/LAWD_DDD_SO_Electronic_Devices.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1391811) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391811) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391811) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/917/dee-d-drell/) - [LAWD_DDD_SO_Electronic_Devices.pdf](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/LAWD_DDD_SO_Electronic_Devices.pdf) - [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/917/dee-d-drell/) - [Wikidata: Dee D. Drell](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5249891) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dee-d-drell) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://openjurist.org/judge/dee-d-drell) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/917/dee-d-drell/) - [Wikidata: Dee D. Drell](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5249891) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dee-d-drell", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dee-d-drell", "name": "Dee D. Drell | KnowJudges", "description": "Dee D. Drell, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 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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.