--- title: "Hector Gonzalez | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/hector-gonzalez" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Hector Gonzalez U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York - State: New York - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Hector Gonzalez is a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022 after a 52–45 Senate confirmation vote - Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York, 1994-1999; deputy chief, Narcotics Unit, 1997-1998; chief, Narcotics Unit, 1999 - Assistant district attorney, New York City, 1990-1993 - Served in the U.S. Army from 1982 to 1983 as an officer cadet at the U.S. Military Academy ### Education - John Jay College — M.A. (1995) - University of New York — M.A. (1995) - City University of New — M.A. (1995) - University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School) — J.D. (1988) - University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he edited the University of Pennsylvania Law Review — J.D. (1988) - Manhattan College — B.S. (1985) ### Additional information - Private practice, New York City, 1988-1990, 1993-1994, 1999-2022 - Special master, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2012-2016 - Visiting lecturer (Fulbright Scholar), University of San Carlos, Guatemala City, Guatemala, 1998 - Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and active in nonprofit legal organizations, including New York Lawyers for the Public Interest - As a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, Gonzalez presides over civil and criminal cases. - His individual practices require that most new civil cases be heard directly by him unless referred to a magistrate judge, and he has a zero-tolerance policy for AI-generated filings without verification - He also held the role of a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala City, teaching trial advocacy at the University of San Carlos ## 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 ### electronic filing Scope: judge specific Judge Gonzalez requires written submissions and supporting materials to be text-searchable where practicable, and requires proposed orders, jury instructions, and other submissions for adoption to be filed on ECF and emailed to Chambers in both PDF and Microsoft Word formats. Evidence excerpt: All written submissions and supporting materials must be text-searchable, to the extent practicable. ... Proposed orders, jury instructions, and other submissions for adoption by the Court shall be filed on ECF and emailed to Chambers in PDF and Microsoft Word format. [Individual Practices of Judge Hector Gonzalez](https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/pub/rules/HG-MLR.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### 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/11695886) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11695886) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11695886) - [Individual Practices of Judge Hector Gonzalez](https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/pub/rules/HG-MLR.pdf) - [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) - [Judge Hector Gonzalez](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11695886) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/hector-gonzalez", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/hector-gonzalez", "name": "Hector Gonzalez | KnowJudges", "description": "Hector Gonzalez, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 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Civil and criminal sections have distinct scope and district-specific exceptions. Not Bankruptcy Court rules. [Official source](https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/local_rules/2026-01-02%20-%20EDNY%20and%20SDNY%20Joint%20Local%20Rules%20As%20Amended.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [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.