--- title: "Gina L. Simms | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Gina L. Simms U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland - State: Maryland - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, appointed on November 20, 2017, with a background in public service, federal prosecution, and private practice - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Maryland, 1999-07–2011-12 - Associate Counsel, U.S. Office of Independent Counsel, 1998-07–1999-07 - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Columbia, 1994-10–1998-07 - She then served as an Associate at Robinson Law Firm in Washington, D.C. District of Maryland - Her practice focused on white-collar criminal and civil defense, internal investigations, and corporate compliance - After law school, she was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Curtis E. von Kann in the District of Columbia Superior Court. ### Education - Swarthmore College — English Literature — B.A. (1987) ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, D. Maryland, 2017-present - Practitioner, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, 2017-01–2017-10 - Practitioner, Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver, 2011-11–2016-12 - Investigative Counsel, U.S. Dept. of the Interior - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, 2010-08-01–2011-11 - J.D. — George Washington Univ. — 1992 - Date of birth: 1951 - Listed among the active magistrate judges for the district - handling pretrial services, certain criminal and civil cases, and other judicial duties under the court’s authority. - During her D.C. tenure, she was also Associate Independent Counsel and part of a team investigating a former U.S. Secretary of Labor. - After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, she was detailed to the U.S. Department of the Interior as Counsel in the Investigations and Review Unit, investigating oil and gas companies - Health Law Section). - Judge Simms has been recognized in professional forums, including the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section, for her contributions to the federal bench and her career in public service - Birth place: DC ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=28) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=28) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=28) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9302/gina-l-simms/) - [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/9302/gina-l-simms/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Gina L. Simms](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9302/gina-l-simms/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Gina L. Simms](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate", "name": "Gina L. Simms | KnowJudges", "description": "Gina L. Simms, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate#judge", "name": "Gina L. Simms", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate", "jobTitle": "U.S. Magistrate Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=28", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9302/gina-l-simms/" ], "birthDate": "1951", "birthPlace": "DC", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Swarthmore College" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "George Washington Univ." } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Maryland", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/maryland" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gina L. Simms", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/gina-l-simms-maryland-us-magistrate" } ] } ] } ``` ## 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.