--- title: "Howard Frederic Sachs | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/howard-frederic-sachs" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Howard Frederic Sachs U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - State: Missouri - 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 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, having assumed senior status on October 31, 1992 - Judge, District Court, W.D. Missouri, 1979-1992 - Service: Judge of the Western District of Missouri from September 26, 1979, to October 31, 1992 - Law clerk, Hon. Albert A. Ridge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, 1950-1951 ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1950) - Harvard Law School in — J.D. (1950) - Williams College (1947), Harvard Law School (1950) (Education). - Williams College — B.A. (1947) ### Additional information - Notable for: Long career in federal judiciary, leadership as Chief Judge, and landmark 2019 abortion ruling - Chief Judge from 1990 to 1992 - Private practice, Kansas City, MO, 1951-1979 - Private practice, Kansas City, Missouri, 1951-1979 - Before his judicial career, he held the role of a U.S. Navy Electrical Technician’s Mate (Second Class) from 1944 to 1946 - Born September 13, 1925, Kansas City, Missouri. - Date of birth: 1925-01-01 - Birth place: Kansas City, MO ## 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/1387316) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387316) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387316) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2822/howard-frederic-sachs/) - [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/2822/howard-frederic-sachs/) - [Judge Howard Frederic Sachs](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387316) - [Wikidata: Howard F. Sachs](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15452465) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/howard-frederic-sachs", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/howard-frederic-sachs", "name": "Howard Frederic Sachs | KnowJudges", "description": "Howard Frederic Sachs, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. 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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.