--- title: "Janet T. Neff | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/janet-t-neff" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Janet T. Neff U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan ยท Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan - State: Michigan - 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 - Judge, District Court, W.D. Michigan, 2007-present - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Michigan, 1980-present - Senior judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, appointed in 2007 by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate 83โ€“4 - Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, 1989-2007 - Commissioner, Michigan Supreme Court, 1978-1980 - Regarded as a model jurist whose work has influenced both criminal justice and state governance ### Education ### Additional information - Practitioner, 1988-1988 - Private practice, Michigan, 1980-1988 - Private practice, Michigan, 1973-1978 - Assistant city attorney, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971-1973 - Born Janet Theresa Nebiolo in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1945, Neff obtained a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967 and a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School in 1970 - Date of birth: 1945-01-01 - Birth place: Wilkinsburg, PA ## 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: Lansing District Courtroom . The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan has installed electronic evidence presentation equipment in the courtrooms of all Article III Judges. All systems allow for the projection of evidence throughout the courtroom on monitors and/or large projection screens. [Lansing District Courtroom | Western District of Michigan | United States District Court](https://www.miwd.uscourts.gov/lansing-district-courtroom) 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/1392606) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392606) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392606) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2380/janet-t-neff/) - [Lansing District Courtroom | Western District of Michigan | United States District Court](https://www.miwd.uscourts.gov/lansing-district-courtroom) - [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/2380/janet-t-neff/) - [Wikidata: Janet T. Neff](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6153620) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/janet-t-neff", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/janet-t-neff", "name": "Janet T. Neff | KnowJudges", "description": "Janet T. Neff, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. 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/janet-t-neff#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/janet-t-neff#judge", "name": "Janet T. 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Neff", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/janet-t-neff" } ] } ] } ``` ## 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 | 71 | 70 | 2.8 | 70 | | 10y | 1711 | 1707 | 4.9 | 1707 | 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) โ€” 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) โ€” 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.