--- title: "Dena Michaela Coggins | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dena-michaela-coggins" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Dena Michaela Coggins U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California - State: California - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-08-16 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Dena Michaela Coggins (née Hackett; born 1979 in Sacramento, California) is an American judge who has held the role of a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California since September 18, 2024 - Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, 2021-2024; presiding judge of the juvenile court, 2023-2024 - California state government: Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. (2013–2015) Supervising Attorney, California Victim Compensation Board (2017–2018) AFJ Administrative Law Judge, California Office of Administrative Hearings (2015–2017, 2018–2021) - Private practice: Morrison & Foerster LLP (2007–2012) — litigation in securities, insurance, probate, immigration, consumer class actions AFJ Downey Brand LLP (2012–2013) — family law ### Education - McGeorge School of Law — J.D. (2006) - University of the Pacific — J.D. (2006) - California State University — B.S. (2003) - California State University, Sacramento — B.S. ### Additional information - She succeeded Kimberly J. Mueller, who had been on the court since 2011. - Commission issued: September 18, 2024 - Predecessor: Kimberly J. Mueller (retired to senior status September 17, 2024) - Confirmed by Senate: May 22, 2024, by a 50–44 vote - General Jurisdiction Division, 2018-2021 - Special Education Division, 2015-2017 - Private practice, Sacramento, California, 2012-2013 - Private practice, San Francisco, California, 2007-2012 - Date of birth: 1979 - Deputy legal affairs secretary, Gov. - The first Black woman to serve on this federal court. - Coggins’ appointment marks a milestone as the first Black woman to serve on the Eastern District of California’s federal bench. - Appointed by: President Joe Biden - Her chambers are located at the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA, and she presides over both civil and criminal matters in the Eastern District. - Birth place: Sacramento ## 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.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/) - [Official roster](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/) - [caed.uscourts.gov judicial profile or roster](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/) - [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) - [Judge Dena Michaela Coggins](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761696) - [Wikidata: Dena M. Coggins](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126063491) - [Judge Dena Michaela Coggins](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761696) - [Wikidata: Dena M. Coggins](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126063491) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dena-michaela-coggins", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/dena-michaela-coggins", "name": "Dena Michaela Coggins | KnowJudges", "description": "Dena Michaela Coggins, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. 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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.