---
title: "John Garvan Murtha | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-g-murtha"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# John Garvan Murtha

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

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont
- State: Vermont
- 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

- U.S. District Judge for Vermont; nominated by President Bill Clinton on April 4, 1995, to succeed Franklin Billings Jr., confirmed May 25 and commissioned May 26, 1995
- Windham County deputy state's attorney, 1970–1973

### Education

- Georgetown University Law Center — LL.M. (1970)
- University of Connecticut School of Law — LL.B. (1968)
- Yale University — B.A. (1963)

### Additional information

- Chief judge, 1995–2002; assumed senior status June 30, 2009, and inactive status October 1, 2017.
- Private practice in Brattleboro, 1973–1995; served on Vermont judicial commissions.
- Prettyman fellow at Georgetown University, 1968–1970.
- Peace Corps service in Colombia, 1963–1965.
- Born March 3, 1941, in Hartford, Connecticut.
- Member of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Judicial Branch.

## 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: courtwide

Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.

Evidence excerpt: Home . Overview of Rutland's Evidence Presentation System . The Evidence Presentation System was designed to promote and enhance the presentation and dissemination of exhibits and evidence in the courtroom.

[Overview of Rutland's Evidence Presentation System | DISTRICT OF VERMONT | United States District Court](https://www.vtd.uscourts.gov/overview-rutlands-evidence-presentation-system)
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/1385571)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385571)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385571)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2368/john-garvan-murtha/)
- [Overview of Rutland's Evidence Presentation System | DISTRICT OF VERMONT | United States District Court](https://www.vtd.uscourts.gov/overview-rutlands-evidence-presentation-system)
- [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/2368/john-garvan-murtha/)
- [Judge John Garvan Murtha](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385571)
- [Wikidata: John Garvan Murtha](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15451762)
- [Murtha, John Garvan | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/murtha-john-garvan)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2368/john-garvan-murtha/)
- [Judge John Garvan Murtha](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385571)
- [Wikidata: John Garvan Murtha](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15451762)

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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 | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 2y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 5y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 10y | 15 | 15 | 5.5 | 15 |

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.