--- title: "John C. Coughenour | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-c-coughenour" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # John C. Coughenour U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington - State: Washington - 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. Washington, 1981-2006 - Nominated to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington by President Ronald Reagan on August 11, 1981, to fill the seat vacated by Judge Morell Edward Sharp - After law school, he entered private practice in Seattle, Washington, and briefly held the role of an assistant professor of law at the University of Washington from 1970 to 1973, teaching trial and appellate practice. ### Education - University of Iowa College of Law in — J.D. (1966) - Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) — B.S. (1963) ### Additional information - He held the role of chief judge from 1997 to 2004 and assumed senior status on July 27, 2006, continuing to handle a full caseload for several years. - received his commission on September 28, 1981. - Private practice, Seattle, WA, 1966-1981 - John Clare Coughenour was born on July 27, 1941, in Pittsburg, Kansas. - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Beyond the bench, Coughenour has taught trial advocacy at the University of Washington School of Law for over fifty years. - He has participated in international judicial reform activities and held the role of Chair of Ninth Circuit working groups on Jury Instructions and Gender Bias, as well as past President of the Ninth Circuit District Judges’ Association. - His former law clerks established an endowment in his name to support the school’s trial advocacy program. - Birth place: Pittsburgh, KS ## 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/1379536) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379536) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1379536) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/735/john-c-coughenour/) - [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) - [Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/judges.csv) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/735/john-c-coughenour/) - [Wikidata: John C. Coughenour](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6224353) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-c-coughenour", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-c-coughenour", "name": "John C. Coughenour | KnowJudges", "description": "John C. Coughenour, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-08-02", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-c-coughenour#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-c-coughenour#judge", "name": "John C. 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Coughenour", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-c-coughenour" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 60 | 4 | Not available | 4 | | 2y | 179 | 74 | 2.7 | 74 | | 5y | 667 | 515 | 3.6 | 515 | | 10y | 1941 | 1781 | 5.2 | 1781 | 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.