--- title: "Eric Christian Tostrud | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-christian-tostrud" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Eric Christian Tostrud U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - State: Minnesota - 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 - Judge, District Court, D. Minnesota, 2018-present - Adjunct professor, University of Minnesota Law School, 2011-present - American jurist who became Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on July 1, 2026, succeeding Patrick J. Schiltz - held the role of a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota until becoming chief judge in 2026 - Law Clerk, District Court, D. Minnesota, 1990-1992 - Clerkships: held the role of law clerk to Judge Edward J. Devitt (U.S. District Court, D. Minn.) and Judge George E. MacKinnon (U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Cir.) ### Education - J.D. summa cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law) in 1990 ### Additional information - distinguished practitioner in residence, 2015-present - Faculty, Mitchell Hamline School of Law (formerly William Mitchell College of Law), 1993-present - Tostrud assumed the chief judgeship on July 1, 2026, during a period of heightened caseloads, including significant immigration and federal government cases. - Private practice, Minneapolis, MN, 1992-2018 - adjunct professor, 1993-2015 - Born 1965 in St. Paul, Minnesota. - Date of birth: 1965-01-01 - Woodbury High School - His practice focused on complex federal litigation, especially in insurance, healthcare, ERISA, fraud, and financial services - Birth place: St. Paul, MN ## 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/5198501) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5198501) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5198501) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8642/eric-christian-tostrud/) - [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/8642/eric-christian-tostrud/) - [Wikidata: Eric C. Tostrud](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48568419) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-christian-tostrud", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-christian-tostrud", "name": "Eric Christian Tostrud | KnowJudges", "description": "Eric Christian Tostrud, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. 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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.