--- title: "Jay C. Zainey | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jay-c-zainey" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Jay C. Zainey U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - 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. Louisiana, 2002-present - title: Judge · court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · appointment date: 2002-02-14 · nominated by: George W. Bush · nomination date: 2001-10-10 · confirmation date: 2002-02-11 · predecessor: A. J. McNamara · service start: 2002 · status: Incumbent - Between 1974 and 1975, he served as a law clerk in private practice in Louisiana, and from 1976 to 2002 he practiced law in the state - Law clerk — Private practice · location: Louisiana · start year: 1974 · end year: 1975 ### Education - Louisiana State University Law School (now Paul M. Hebert Law Center) — Law — J.D. (1975) - University of Louisiana in New Orleans (now University of New Orleans) — FJC — B.S. (1972) ### Additional information - The U.S. Senate confirmed him on February 11, 2002, and he received his commission on February 14, 2002. - Attorney in private practice — Private practice · location: Louisiana · start year: 1976 · end year: 2002 - On October 10, 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Zainey to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, a seat vacated by A.J. McNamara. - He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1970 to 1976, earning a B.S. in 1972 from the University of New Orleans and a J.D. in 1975 from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. - Member — U.S. Air Force Reserve · start year: 1970 · end year: 1976 - Jay Christopher Zainey was born July 7, 1951, in New Orleans, Louisiana. - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - Jesuit High School - His confirmation vote was 92–0 - LSU New Orleans - Birth place: New Orleans, 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/1391426) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391426) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391426) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3591/jay-c-zainey/) - [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/3591/jay-c-zainey/) - [Wikidata: Jay C. Zainey](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6166457) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/jay-c-zainey) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_C._Zainey) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://openjurist.org/judge/jay-c-zainey) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3591/jay-c-zainey/) - [Wikidata: Jay C. Zainey](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6166457) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jay-c-zainey", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jay-c-zainey", "name": "Jay C. Zainey | KnowJudges", "description": "Jay C. Zainey, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. 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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.