--- title: "John Phil Gilbert | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # John Phil Gilbert U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, having assumed senior status on March 15, 2014 - Judge, District Court, S.D. Illinois, 1992-2014 - held the role of Chief Judge of the Southern District of Illinois from 1993 to 2000 - Judge, Illinois Circuit Court, First Judicial Circuit, 1988-1992 - In January 1988, Gilbert was appointed Circuit Judge of Illinois’ First Judicial Circuit, later elected to a full six-year term in 1988 - Special assistant attorney general, Public Aid Enforcement Division, State of Illinois, 1974-1975 ### Education - Loyola University Chicago School of Law ### Additional information - Member, Illinois State Board of Elections, 1978-1988 - Began his legal career in private practice in Carbondale, IL (1974–1988). - vice-chairman, 1983-1985 - chairman, 1981-1983 - Assistant city attorney, Carbondale, IL, 1975-1978 - Born March 11, 1949, in Carbondale, Illinois. - Date of birth: 1949-01-01 - Birth place: Carbondale, IL ## 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: In the event of a disagreement, the Court will only allow the use of the exhibits for which admissibility can be determined promptly and without causing a delay in the start of the trial. Electronic demonstrative aids that do not involve exhibits to be introduced during trial, such as Power Point, must be shown to… [Sison.pdf](https://www.ilsd.uscourts.gov/sites/ilsd/files/Sison.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/1381216) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381216) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381216) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1198/john-phil-gilbert/) - [Sison.pdf](https://www.ilsd.uscourts.gov/sites/ilsd/files/Sison.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) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1198/john-phil-gilbert/) - [Wikidata: John Phil Gilbert](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6252745) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert", "name": "John Phil Gilbert | KnowJudges", "description": "John Phil Gilbert, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert#judge", "name": "John Phil Gilbert", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381216", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1198/john-phil-gilbert/" ], "birthDate": "1949", "birthPlace": "Carbondale, IL", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Loyola University Chicago School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Illinois", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/illinois" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Phil Gilbert", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/john-p-gilbert" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 169 | 3 | Not available | 3 | | 2y | 307 | 48 | 2.5 | 48 | | 5y | 761 | 464 | 5.3 | 464 | | 10y | 2039 | 1738 | 7.5 | 1738 | 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.