--- title: "Halil Suleyman Ozerden | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Halil Suleyman Ozerden U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi - State: Mississippi - 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, S.D. Mississippi, 2007-present - Halil Suleyman “Sul” Ozerden is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, a position he assumed on November 4, 2024 for a seven‐year term - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, appointed by President George W. Bush on January 9, 2007, confirmed by the Senate on April 24, 2007 - Law clerk, Hon. Eldon E. Fallon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 1998-1999 ### Education - a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1998, where he held the role of associate editor of the Stanford Law Review - B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service in 1989 ### Additional information - Also nominated in 2019 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit but did not receive Senate confirmation - Private practice, Gulfport, MS, 1999-2007 - Before his legal career, Ozerden held the role of a U.S. Navy lieutenant (O‐3) from 1989 to 1995. - Ozerden was born December 5, 1966, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to a Turkish family. - Date of birth: 1966-01-01 - As Chief Judge, Ozerden presides over the court’s docket, oversees judicial administration, and represents the court in official matters. - As a naval flight officer/bombardier‐navigator on the A‐6E Intruder, he flew over 1,000 hours, commanded missions in Operation Restore Hope (Somalia) and Operation Southern Watch (Iraq), and received awards including the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, and multiple service ribbons - Birth place: Hattiesburg, MS ## 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/1392561) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392561) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392561) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2484/halil-suleyman-ozerden/) - [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/2484/halil-suleyman-ozerden/) - [Wikidata: Halil Suleyman Ozerden](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5642310) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden", "name": "Halil Suleyman Ozerden | KnowJudges", "description": "Halil Suleyman Ozerden, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden#judge", "name": "Halil Suleyman Ozerden", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392561", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2484/halil-suleyman-ozerden/" ], "birthDate": "1966", "birthPlace": "Hattiesburg, MS", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Georgetown University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Stanford University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Walsh School of Foreign Service" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Mississippi", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/mississippi" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Halil Suleyman Ozerden", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/halil-suleyman-ozerden" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 194 | 4 | Not available | 4 | | 2y | 380 | 60 | 4.2 | 60 | | 5y | 932 | 590 | 6.1 | 590 | | 10y | 2196 | 1853 | 7.2 | 1853 | 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.