--- title: "Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-anne-kovachevich" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida - State: Florida - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, M.D. Florida, 1982-present - She held the role of Chief Judge of the Middle District from 1996 to 2002 - Judge, Circuit Court of Florida, Sixth Judicial Circuit, 1973-1982 - Petersburg, Florida, until 1973, when she was elected judge of the Florida Sixth Judicial Circuit — the first woman to serve in that role - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ### Education - Stetson University College of Law — J.D. (1961) - B.B.A. — University of Miami — 1958 - St. Petersburg Junior College — 1956 ### Additional information - Research/administrative aide, Pinellas County Legislative Delegation, Florida State Legislature, 1961-present - Kovachevich assumed senior status on December 14, 2018, and continues to serve in that capacity - received her commission on March 9, 1982. - In 1982, President Ronald Reagan nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, a seat vacated by George C. Young. - Private practice, St. Petersburg, FL, 1961-1973 - Private practice, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1961-1973 - Before her federal appointment, Kovachevich was a member of the Florida Board of Regents in 1970, which led to public controversy in 1971 over dormitory curfew policies for women. - Born December 14, 1936, in Canton, Illinois. - Date of birth: 1936-01-01 - Birth place: Canton, IL ## 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/1383491) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383491) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383491) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1816/elizabeth-anne-kovachevich/) - [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/1816/elizabeth-anne-kovachevich/) - [Judge Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383491) - [Wikidata: Elizabeth A. Kovachevich](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5362262) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-anne-kovachevich", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-anne-kovachevich", "name": "Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich | KnowJudges", "description": "Elizabeth Anne Kovachevich, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. 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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.