--- title: "Jerry Edwards Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jerry-edwards-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Jerry Edwards 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: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: District Judge · start date: 2023-12-23 · notes: First person of color to serve on WD La.; nominated by President Biden June 7, 2023, confirmed by Senate Dec 14, 2023, sworn in by Chief Judge Terry A. Doughty - First Assistant United States Attorney — U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2022 · end year: 2023 - On June 7, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Edwards to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, filling the seat vacated by Judge Michael J. Juneau, who assumed senior status in February 2022 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Louisiana, 2019-2023; deputy chief, Civil Division, 2020; chief, Civil Division, 2020-2022; first assistant U.S. attorney, 2022-2023 - He then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana as an assistant U.S. attorney from 2019 to 2023 - Civil Chief — U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2020 · end year: 2022 - Assistant United States Attorney — U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana · start year: 2019 · end year: 2022 - Shareholder and Director — Blanchard, Walker, O'Quin & Roberts · start year: 2006 · end year: 2019 - associate at Blanchard, Walker, O’Quin & Roberts, A.P.L.C. in Shreveport, Louisiana, and later became a shareholder and director at the same firm from 2014 to 2019 (2006–2014) - Law Clerk — First Judicial District Court of Louisiana (Judges Jeanette G. Garrett and Scott J. Crichton) · start year: 2005 · end year: 2006 - Judge Jerry Edwards Jr. combines extensive civil and federal prosecutorial experience with his current role as a U.S. District Judge ### Education - Georgia State University — B.A. (2002) - Georgia State University — B.S. (2002) ### Additional information - Private practice, Shreveport, Louisiana, 2006-2019 - Early in his career, he clerked for Judges Jeanette G. Garrett and Scott Crichton of the Caddo Parish District Court from 2005 to 2006 - J.D. — Vermont Law and Graduate School — 2005 - Born Shreveport, LA 1979. - focusing on civil law, including torts and contracts. - As a federal judge, Edwards presides over civil and criminal cases in the Western District of Louisiana. - His career reflects a progression from private practice to federal service, culminating in his appointment to the federal bench, where he continues to oversee a wide range of cases in Louisiana ## 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/13761406) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761406) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761406) - [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) - [Judge Jerry Edwards Jr.](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761406) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jerry-edwards-jr) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1400086) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla/pr/us-attorney-brandon-b-brown-announces-confirmation-jerry-edwards-jr-federal-judge) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-169/issue-206/senate-section/article/S5985-1) - [Judge Jerry Edwards Jr.](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761406) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jerry-edwards-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jerry-edwards-jr", "name": "Jerry Edwards Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Jerry Edwards Jr., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 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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.