--- title: "Donna Phillips Currault | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Donna Phillips Currault U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - 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 - Federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, appointed in June 2020 and serving until 2028 - Judicial Law Clerk — U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Hon. Morey L. Sear - description: Served as law clerk after graduating Tulane Law in 1989 - 1989 to 1990 - She also held the role of a judicial law clerk to Hon ### Education - J.D. — Tulane University School of Law — 1989 — Law; magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, Managing Editor Tulane Law Review 1988-89 - Loyola University — cum laude — B.A. (1985) ### Additional information - Practitioner, Gordon, Arata, Montgomery Barnett, 1990–2020 - Associate then Partner/Member — Gordon, Arata, Montgomery Barnett, LLC (formerly Gordon, Arata, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLC) - description: Almost 30 years; practice in complex commercial litigation, class and collective actions, labor and employment matters - 1990 to 2020 - J.D. — Tulane Univ. — 1989 - Before joining the federal bench, Currault practiced law for nearly 30 years at Gordon, Arata, Montgomery Barnett, LLC - Examiner for Code I — Louisiana Committee on Bar Examinations · description: Served as Examiner while in private practice - handling complex commercial litigation, class and collective actions, business disputes, and labor/employment matters. - Judge Currault is recognized for her extensive litigation experience, leadership in bar associations, and contributions to legal scholarship and community service ## 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=40) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [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) - [Official biography source for Donna Phillips Currault](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Donna Phillips Currault](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.lawyerdb.org/Lawyer/donna-phillips-currault/) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.laed.uscourts.gov/news/donna-phillips-currault-selected-magistrate-judge) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/about-federal-judges/judicial-milestones/donna-phillips-currault) - [Official biography source for Donna Phillips Currault](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Donna Phillips Currault](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/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate", "name": "Donna Phillips Currault | KnowJudges", "description": "Donna Phillips Currault, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate#judge", "name": "Donna Phillips Currault", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate", "jobTitle": "U.S. Magistrate Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40" ], "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Loyola University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Tulane Univ." }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Tulane University School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Louisiana", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/louisiana" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Donna Phillips Currault", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/donna-phillips-currault-louisiana-us-magistrate" } ] } ] } ``` ## 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.