--- title: "Irene Cornelia Berger | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/irene-c-berger" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Irene Cornelia Berger U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia - State: West Virginia - 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. West Virginia, 2009-present - Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of West Virginia, 1994-present - Federal judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 - Judge, West Virginia Circuit Court, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, 1994-2009 - 1994–2009: Judge, Kanawha County Circuit Court (Thirteenth Judicial Circuit), appointed by Governor Gaston Caperton - Assistant prosecutor, Kanawha County, WV, 1982-1994 - 1982–1994: Assistant prosecuting attorney, Kanawha County, WV - Historic First: First Black woman to serve on the Kanawha County Circuit Court and first African-American female federal judge in West Virginia ### Education - West Virginia University College of Law in — J.D. (1979) - B.A. in Mathematics from West Virginia University in 1976 ### Additional information - On July 8, 2009, President Obama nominated Berger to replace David A. Faber on the Southern District of West Virginia bench. - The U.S. Senate confirmed her on October 27, 2009 by a unanimous vote, and she received her commission on November 9, 2009. - 1979–1982: Staff attorney, Legal Aid Society of Charleston, WV - Born September 27, 1954. - Date of birth: 1954-01-01 - representing low-income clients in domestic, consumer, and tenant-landlord cases. - The first African-American female federal judge in West Virginia’s history. - Berger was born in Faraday, West Virginia (some sources list Richlands, VA). - Birth place: Richlands, VA ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . In order to reserve equipment, attorneys must file the Notice of Certification for Use of Courtroom Technology ( LR Civ P 7.1 [a][10] or LR Cr P 12.1 [e]) and contact the court's IT staff at 304/347- 3005. Appointments ideally should be scheduled at least one week prior to the court appearance. [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of West Virginia | United States District Court](https://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1392951) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392951) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392951) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/259/irene-cornelia-berger/) - [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of West Virginia | United States District Court](https://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) - [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/259/irene-cornelia-berger/) - [Wikidata: Irene C. Berger](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6068951) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/irene-c-berger", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/irene-c-berger", "name": "Irene Cornelia Berger | KnowJudges", "description": "Irene Cornelia Berger, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. 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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.