---
title: "James Travis Trimble Jr. | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-travis-trimble-jr"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# James Travis Trimble Jr.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- State: Louisiana
- Role: Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- court: United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Senior Judge · start date: 2002-09-13 · notes: Assumed senior status
- Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, having assumed senior status on September 13, 2002
- Judge, District Court, W.D. Louisiana, 1991-2002
- court: United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: District Judge · start date: 1991-09-16 · end date: 2002-09-13 · notes: Nominated by George H.W. Bush on June 27, 1991, confirmed Sept 12, 1991; seat vacated by Earl Ernest Veron
- court: United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Magistrate Judge · start date: 1986 · end date: 1991 · notes: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- JAG Corps Officer — United States Air Force · start year: 1956 · end year: 1959
- U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate (JAG Corps): 1956–1959, serving in military legal duties

### Education

- Trimble obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University in 1955 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Louisiana State University Law School (now Paul M. Hebert Law Center) in 1956
- Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College — B.A. (1955)

### Additional information

- Private practice, Alexandria, LA, 1959-1986
- Private Practice — Private Practice, Alexandria, Louisiana · start year: 1959 · end year: 1986
- Born September 13, 1932, in Bunkie, Louisiana.
- Date of birth: 1932-01-01
- 94-year-old senior federal judge with a career spanning military legal service, private practice, magistrate judge role, and over a decade on the federal bench.
- Birth place: Bunkie, LA

## 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/1388936)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388936)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388936)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3263/james-travis-trimble-jr/)
- [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/3263/james-travis-trimble-jr/)
- [Wikidata: James Travis Trimble, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6144403)
- [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-travis-trimble-jr)
- [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1388811)
- [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Travis_Trimble_Jr.)
- [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://ballotpedia.org/James_Trimble_Jr.)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3263/james-travis-trimble-jr/)
- [Wikidata: James Travis Trimble, Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6144403)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 2y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 5y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 10y | 229 | 229 | 5 | 229 |

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.
