--- title: "Elizabeth Wilson Hanes | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-wilson-hanes" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-03" --- # Elizabeth Wilson Hanes U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia - State: Virginia - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - In summary: Elizabeth Wilson Hanes is a Virginia-native federal judge with a strong background in public defense, private litigation, and academic service, now presiding over cases in the Eastern District of Virginia since 2022 - Private practice as a civil litigator, Consumer Litigation Associates, P.C., Newport News, VA (2016–2020) - Adjunct professor, University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law, 2014, 2017 - Adjunct professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014-2016 - Assistant federal public defender, Eastern District of Virginia, 2009-2016 - Law clerk, Hon. Robert B. King, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2008-2009 - Law clerk, Hon. Joseph R. Goodwin, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, 2007-2008 - Elizabeth Wilson Hanes (née Elizabeth Slater Wilson, born 1978 in Roanoke, Virginia) is an American judge serving on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia - Adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Richmond School of Law ### Education - (summa cum laude), University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law (now University of Richmond School of Law) — J.D. (2007) - (cum laude), University of Richmond — B.A. (2000) ### Additional information - Her nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 21, 2022, and confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2022. - Confirmed by Senate: August 2, 2022, by a 59–37 vote - Nominated to fill a vacancy created when Judge John A. Gibney Jr. assumed senior status in 2021. - Private practice, Richmond, Virginia, 2016-2020 - Date of birth: 1978 - Predecessor: John A. Gibney Jr. (senior status) - Before law school, Hanes worked in corporate finance for Liz Claiborne and held the role of an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in West Virginia, helping establish a nonprofit for abused children and crime victims. - She has extensive experience in both civil and criminal federal cases, with a record of arguing the majority of her cases in federal courts. - Birth place: Roanoke ## 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/12352111) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12352111) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12352111) - [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 Elizabeth Wilson Hanes](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12352111) - [Wikidata: Elizabeth Hanes](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111738945) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-wilson-hanes", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-wilson-hanes", "name": "Elizabeth Wilson Hanes | KnowJudges", "description": "Elizabeth Wilson Hanes, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 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Williams School of Law (now University of Richmond School of Law)" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Virginia", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/virginia" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Wilson Hanes", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elizabeth-wilson-hanes" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 263 | 23 | 0.5 | 23 | | 2y | 431 | 92 | 2.4 | 92 | | 5y | 768 | 379 | 5.1 | 379 | | 10y | 768 | 379 | 5.1 | 379 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## 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.