--- title: "John Frederick Heil III | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-f-heil-iii" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # John Frederick Heil III U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma - State: Oklahoma - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - From 2000 to 2020, he was a shareholder and director at Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. in Tulsa, Oklahoma - On November 6, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Heil to the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma, filling the seat vacated by Judge James H. Payne - Assistant district attorney, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, 1997-2000 - Heil began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office - John F. Heil III is a highly experienced attorney and federal judge with a career spanning public service as a prosecutor, private practice in complex litigation, and leadership roles in multiple U.S. District Courts in Oklahoma ### Education - a Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1994, where he held the role of an editor for the Tulsa Law Journal - Oklahoma State University in — B.S. (1990) ### Additional information - Private practice, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1994-1997, 2000-2020 - John Frederick Heil III was born in 1968 in Lima, Ohio. - Date of birth: 1968 - focusing on complex commercial litigation - As a federal judge, Heil presides over cases in the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma, which are general trial courts of the United States federal judiciary. - Birth place: Lima ## 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: objection is to the introduction of the entire video, the party seeking exclusion shall provide said video to the court at the pretrial conference. Exhibit list shall not include: (1)items, or documents intended to be used solely for impeachment or rebuttal purposes; (2) Expert curriculum vitae or expert reports; (3) depositions; (4) demonstrative aids. Each… [JFH%20Pretrial%20Order%20Form_01232024.pdf](https://www.oked.uscourts.gov/sites/oked/files/forms/JFH%20Pretrial%20Order%20Form_01232024.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/8307871) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8307871) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8307871) - [JFH%20Pretrial%20Order%20Form_01232024.pdf](https://www.oked.uscourts.gov/sites/oked/files/forms/JFH%20Pretrial%20Order%20Form_01232024.pdf) - [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 John Frederick Heil III](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8307871) - [Wikidata: John F. Heil III](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q73799169) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-f-heil-iii", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-f-heil-iii", "name": "John Frederick Heil III | KnowJudges", "description": "John Frederick Heil III, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. 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/john-f-heil-iii#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-f-heil-iii#judge", "name": "John Frederick Heil III", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-f-heil-iii", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/8307871" ], "birthDate": "1968", "birthPlace": "Lima", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Oklahoma State University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Tulsa College of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Oklahoma", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/oklahoma" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Frederick Heil III", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-f-heil-iii" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 50 | 2 | Not available | 2 | | 2y | 133 | 29 | 3.3 | 29 | | 5y | 342 | 191 | 6 | 191 | | 10y | 426 | 272 | 6.7 | 272 | 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.