--- title: "Harold Dean Mooty III | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Harold Dean Mooty III U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama - State: Alabama - 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 - Harold Dean “Hal” Mooty III is an American judge serving on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama since October 21, 2025 - Joined Lanier Ford as an associate in 2008, later moving to Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Huntsville, where he became a partner in 2017. - Position: U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Alabama - His practice focused on commercial litigation, contract disputes, shareholder disputes, torts, insurance, medical malpractice, and technology law - He also defended the medical director of the Madison County Jail in multiple federal civil rights and medical malpractice cases AFJ ### Education - University of Alabama School of Law — J.D. (2008) - University of Alabama — B.S. (2005) ### Additional information - Confirmation: October 21, 2025, 66–32 - Commission issued: October 21, 2025; sworn in October 22, 2025 - Cloture vote: October 16, 2025, 62–34 - Senate Judiciary Committee vote: October 1, 2025, 18–4 - Private practice, Huntsville, Alabama, 2008-2025 - Mooty began his legal career with Mooty & Associates, P.C. (2005), then worked at Ball Ball Matthews & Novak, P.A. (2006) and Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne, P.C. (2006–2007) AFJ. - Date of birth: 1983 - Clerkship: Accepts applications on a rolling basis after first semester 1L grades - Contact: mooty_helpdesk@ (civil cases) - Imposes discovery sanctions only after showing concrete prejudice. - Grants dismissal with prejudice only after exhausting procedural remedies. - Allows claims to proceed if pleaded facts plausibly suggest legal violations. - Tends to require jury determinations when evidence supports each factor in the “integrated enterprise” test. - Chambers: 660 Gallatin Street SW, Huntsville, AL 35801 ## 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/13762066) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762066) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762066) - [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) - [Mooty, Harold Dean III | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/mooty-harold-dean-iii) - [13762066](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762066) - [FJC Professional Career relational dataset](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/professional-career.csv) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii", "name": "Harold Dean Mooty III | KnowJudges", "description": "Harold Dean Mooty III, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii#judge", "name": "Harold Dean Mooty III", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762066" ], "birthDate": "1983", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Alabama" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Alabama School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Alabama", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/alabama" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harold Dean Mooty III", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/harold-dean-mooty-iii" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 144 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 2y | 144 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 5y | 144 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 10y | 144 | 0 | Not available | 0 | 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.