--- title: "Frank Howell Seay | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-howell-seay" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Frank Howell Seay U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma - State: Oklahoma - 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 - Inactive senior United States district judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and serving in senior status since September 25, 2003 - Judge, District Court, E.D. Oklahoma, 1979-2003 - Judge, Oklahoma District Court, Twenty-Second Judicial District, 1968-1979; associate judge, 1968-1974; judge, 1974-1979 - He later became first assistant district attorney for the 22nd Judicial District (1967–1968), then associate judge (1968–1974) and judge (1974–1979) of the Oklahoma District Court - First assistant district attorney, Twenty-Second Judicial District, OK, 1967-1968 - First assistant district attorney, Twenty-Second Judicial District, Oklahoma, 1967-1968 - County attorney, Seminole County, OK, 1963-1966 - Began his legal career in Seminole, Oklahoma, working in private practice (1963–1966) and serving as county attorney for Seminole County (1963–1966) ### Education - University of Oklahoma College of Law in — J.D. (1963) - University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus — B.A. (1961) ### Additional information - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2000-2003 - Chief Judge: 1980–1996 - Private practice, Seminole, OK, 1963-1966 - Born September 5, 1938, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. - Date of birth: 1938-01-01 - The first Native American appointed to a federal bench in the U.S., though he did not discover his Cherokee heritage until after his judicial appointment - Historic milestone as the first Native American federal judge in the U.S - His intervention is seen as a landmark in safeguarding fair trials and preventing miscarriages of justice - Long leadership as Chief Judge (16 years) - Birth place: Shawnee, OK ## 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/1387566) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387566) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387566) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2897/frank-howell-seay/) - [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/2897/frank-howell-seay/) - [Judge Frank Howell Seay](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387566) - [Wikidata: Frank Howell Seay](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5487350) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-howell-seay", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/frank-howell-seay", "name": "Frank Howell Seay | KnowJudges", "description": "Frank Howell Seay, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. 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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.