---
title: "Jennifer Anna Dorsey | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jennifer-anna-dorsey"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Jennifer Anna Dorsey

U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
- State: Nevada
- 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, D. Nevada, 2013-present
- Current position: U.S. District Judge, District of Nevada (active since 2013)
- After law school, Dorsey interned at Totaro & Shanahan and joined the Las Vegas firm Kemp, Jones & Coulthard LLP, where she became a partner in 2004 and remained until 2013.
- On September 19, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Dorsey to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, replacing Judge Larry R. Hicks
- Jennifer Anna Dorsey (née Cole; born 1971 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States District Judge for the District of Nevada
- Dorsey is an adjunct professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV, teaching judicial writing

### Education

- Pepperdine University School of Law — J.D. (1997)
- Bachelor of Arts in communications — from the University of Nevada — 1994
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas

### Additional information

- She belongs to the American Law Institute and Scribes – the American Society of Legal Writers, and was named Pepperdine Law School’s Alumnus of the Year in 2016.
- Private practice, Las Vegas, NV, 1997-2013
- Date of birth: 1971-01-01
- Chaparral High School
- She handled a wide range of cases, including appeals, class actions, and complex commercial litigation, in both state and federal courts
- Birth place: Las Vegas, NV

## 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/1394256)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394256)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394256)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/901/jennifer-anna-dorsey/)
- [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/901/jennifer-anna-dorsey/)
- [Wikidata: Jennifer A. Dorsey](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6178059)

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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 | 286 | 9 | Not available | 9 |
| 2y | 632 | 148 | 2.4 | 148 |
| 5y | 1602 | 995 | 5 | 995 |
| 10y | 3761 | 3149 | 6.8 | 3149 |

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.
