--- title: "Joan B. Gottschall | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joan-b-gottschall" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Joan B. Gottschall U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed in 1996 and assuming senior status in 2013 - Judge, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 1996-2012 - 1996–2012: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed by President Bill Clinton on March 29, 1996, confirmed by the Senate on July 25, 1996, and commissioned August 1, 1996 - Staff attorney, Legal Office, University of Chicago, 1982-1984 - The presiding judge for cases assigned to her, and her office provides procedural guidance to parties and counsel - Official site: U.S. District Court – Judge Joan B. Gottschall U.S. District Court - Northern District of Illinois ### Education - Stanford University — J.D. (1973) - Smith College — B.A. (1969) ### Additional information - Judge Gottschall has been a former chair and lifetime member of the University of Chicago Divinity School Visiting Committee and has served on the Board of Directors of the Martin Marty Center since 2002. - Assumed senior status (April 23, 2013). - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1984-1996 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1978-1982 - Staff attorney, Federal Defender Program, Chicago, IL, 1976-1978 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1973-1976 - Date of birth: 1947-01-01 - U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and is currently on senior status. - Birth place: Oak Ridge, TN ## 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/1381411) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381411) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381411) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1252/joan-b-gottschall/) - [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/1252/joan-b-gottschall/) - [Wikidata: Joan B. Gottschall](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6204821) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joan-b-gottschall", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joan-b-gottschall", "name": "Joan B. Gottschall | KnowJudges", "description": "Joan B. Gottschall, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 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/joan-b-gottschall#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joan-b-gottschall#judge", "name": "Joan B. 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Gottschall", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joan-b-gottschall" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 156 | 29 | 0.9 | 29 | | 2y | 374 | 170 | 2.6 | 170 | | 5y | 720 | 484 | 3.5 | 484 | | 10y | 1082 | 840 | 4.1 | 840 | 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.