--- title: "James Rodney Gilstrap | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # James Rodney Gilstrap U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas - State: Texas - 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 - Judge, District Court, E.D. Texas, 2011-present - Current role: Judge, Eastern District of Texas (since 2011) - Chief Judge: held the role of Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Texas from March 1, 2018, to March 1, 2025 - Private practice (1981–2011): Associate at Abney, Baldwin & Searcy (1981–1984) and founding partner of Smith & Gilstrap in Marshall, Texas (1984–1989) - Judge, Harrison County Texas Court, 1989-2002 - Local judiciary: Harrison County Judge (1989–2002) - held the role of associate editor of the Baylor Law Review, publishing on copyright infringement - United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and is widely recognized as the country’s “busiest patent judge” for presiding over more than a quarter of all patent infringement cases filed in the U.S ### Education - Baylor University and Baylor Law School, respectively — J.D. (1981) - Baylor University — B.A. (1978) ### Additional information - Appointed: Nominated by President Barack Obama on May 19, 2011, to replace Thad Heartfield; confirmed by the Senate on December 5, 2011, and commissioned December 6, 2011. - Private practice, Marshall, TX, 1981-2011 - Born May 1, 1957, in Pensacola, Florida. - Date of birth: 1957-01-01 - handling oil/gas, real estate, probate, and patent cases. - Community service: 16 years on the Courthouse Preservation Council in Marshall; chaired the Texas State Bar’s Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee. - Notable work: Handles a disproportionate share of U.S. patent litigation, including high-profile cases in technology, finance, and intellectual property. - Graduated magna cum laude and inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate. - Birth place: Pensacola, FL ## 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: District Court, Eastern District of Texas has installed electronic courtrooms designed to streamline the litigation process through the use of electronic evidence presentation systems while preserving the fairness and dignity of the proceedings. The evidence presentation system allows counsel to present evidence electronically and allows jurors to view evidence up close. HDMI compatible devices such… [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: District Court, Eastern District of Texas has installed electronic courtrooms designed to streamline the litigation process through the use of electronic evidence presentation systems while preserving the fairness and dignity of the proceedings. The evidence presentation system allows counsel to present evidence electronically and allows jurors to view evidence up close. HDMI compatible devices such… [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . Before appearing in court, please review our courtroom technology page for information about available presentation systems and required connection adapters. Attorneys should ensure they have compatible equipment to connect with our courtroom display system. [Magistrate Judge Boone Baxter | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=judge/magistrate-judge-boone-baxter) 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/1393871) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393871) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393871) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1211/james-rodney-gilstrap/) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=courtroom-technology) - [Magistrate Judge Boone Baxter | Eastern District of Texas | United States District Court](https://www.txed.uscourts.gov/?q=judge/magistrate-judge-boone-baxter) - [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/1211/james-rodney-gilstrap/) - [Wikidata: James Rodney Gilstrap](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6142346) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap", "name": "James Rodney Gilstrap | KnowJudges", "description": "James Rodney Gilstrap, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap#judge", "name": "James Rodney Gilstrap", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393871", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1211/james-rodney-gilstrap/" ], "birthDate": "1957", "birthPlace": "Pensacola, FL", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Baylor University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Baylor Law School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Texas", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/texas" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Rodney Gilstrap", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-r-gilstrap" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 714 | 12 | 3.2 | 12 | | 2y | 1856 | 404 | 3.3 | 404 | | 5y | 3540 | 1816 | 6.1 | 1816 | | 10y | 6367 | 4632 | 6.4 | 4632 | 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.