---
title: "Franklin Ulyses Valderrama | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/franklin-ulyses-valderrama"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Franklin Ulyses Valderrama

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- State: Illinois
- Role: U.S. District 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, N.D. Illinois, 2020-present
- 2020–present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois since September 23, 2020
- 2007–2020: Associate Judge, Cook County Circuit Court, Illinois
- Staff attorney, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1988-1989

### Education

- DePaul University College of Law — J.D. (1988)
- B.A. — University of Illinois at Chicago — 1985

### Additional information

- Private practice, Chicago, Illinois, 1989-2007
- Date of birth: 1962-01-01
- Judge Valderrama has issued procedural rules for certain case types, such as requiring a $1,000 bond per defendant in counterfeit product cases
- Birth place: Panama City, Panama

## 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/8905366)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905366)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905366)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/14467/franklin-ulyses-valderrama/)
- [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/14467/franklin-ulyses-valderrama/)
- [Judge Franklin Ulyses Valderrama](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905366)
- [Wikidata: Franklin U. Valderrama](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q84432961)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 228 | 31 | 1.4 | 31 |
| 2y | 649 | 235 | 3 | 235 |
| 5y | 1580 | 1043 | 4.4 | 1043 |
| 10y | 1785 | 1243 | 4.5 | 1243 |

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.