--- title: "Helen W. Gillmor | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/helen-w-gillmor" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Helen W. Gillmor U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii - State: Hawaii - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Law clerk, Hon. William Richardson, Supreme Court of Hawaii, 1972-present - Climate Change Lawsuit: In 2026, she blocked a preemptive lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, which sought to prevent Hawaii from suing oil companies over climate change impacts - Judge, District Court, D. Hawaii, 1994-2009 - She returned to private practice before being nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii in 1994, confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 1994, and commissioned on October 11, 1994. - Gillmor held the role of a district court judge of the Hawaii State Family Court, First Circuit (1977–1983), and then as a judge of the District Court of Hawaii (1983–1985). - Law clerk to Chief Justice William S. Richardson of the Hawaii State Supreme Court in 1972, and as a deputy public defender in Honolulu (1972–1974) ### Education - Bachelor of Arts from Queens College, City University of New York in 1965 and a Bachelor of Laws from Boston University School of Law in 1968 ### Additional information - Lecturer, University of Hawaii, 1975-present - Private practice, Camden, ME, 1970-present - Private practice, El Paso, TX, 1969-present - Second Amendment Case: In 2012, Judge Gillmor ruled that Hawaii's licensing requirement to openly carry firearms did not violate the Second Amendment. - She became chief judge in 2005 and assumed senior status on June 30, 2009 - Private practice, Honolulu, HI, 1985-1994 - Private practice, Honolulu, HI, 1974-1977 - She also lectured at the University of Hawaii in 1975 - Deputy public defender, Honolulu, HI, 1972-1974 - Private practice, Honolulu, HI, 1971-1972 - Lecturer, International Legal Center, U.S. Agency for International Development, Seoul, South Korea, 1969-1970 - She also held the role of a lecturer at the International Legal Center of USAID in Seoul, South Korea (1969–1970), and later returned to private practice in Maine and Hawaii. - Private practice, Boston, MA, 1968-1969 - Began her legal career in private practice in Boston (1968–1969) and El Paso, Texas (1969). - Date of birth: 1942-01-01 - Recognized for her careful legal reasoning and her role in high-profile federal cases affecting constitutional rights and state-level climate litigation. - Birth place: Syracuse, NY ## 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/1381251) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381251) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381251) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1207/helen-w-gillmor/) - [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/1207/helen-w-gillmor/) - [Wikidata: Helen W. Gillmor](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5703344) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/helen-w-gillmor", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/helen-w-gillmor", "name": "Helen W. Gillmor | KnowJudges", "description": "Helen W. Gillmor, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. 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/helen-w-gillmor#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/helen-w-gillmor#judge", "name": "Helen W. 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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.