--- title: "Jon Steven Tigar | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jon-s-tigar" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Jon Steven Tigar U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California - State: California - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-08-16 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, N.D. California, 2013-present - Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, 2002-2013 - Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, 2002-2012 - Trial attorney, Office of the Public Defender, San Francisco, CA, 1993-1994 - Law clerk, Hon. Robert S. Vance, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1989-1990 - judge of a United States district court ### Education - University of California, Berkeley School of Law — J.D. (1989) - Williams College — B.A. (1984) ### Additional information - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 1994-2002 - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 1990-1992 - Date of birth: 1962-01-01 - Birth place: London, United Kingdom ## 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 ### trial exhibits Scope: judge specific Judge Tigar requires parties in criminal cases to exchange exhibits and related documentary materials at least 21 days before the final pretrial conference, pre-mark them using non-overlapping number ranges, and deliver labeled exhibit binders at least seven days before trial unless otherwise ordered. Evidence excerpt: At least 21 calendar days before the final pretrial conference, the parties must exchange copies of all exhibits... Each exhibit must be labeled... The parties must mark their exhibits using non-overlapping ranges of numbers... at least seven calendar days prior to the beginning of trial, the parties must deliver one set of all pre-marked exhibits... to the courtroom deputy. [Standing Order for All Criminal Cases Before District Judge Jon S. Tigar](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/Criminal-Standing-Order-JST-05.13.25.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . Proper Use General Order 58 for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California covers the use of electronic devices in the courthouse and must be adhered to at all times. In addition, individual judges may issue specific orders regarding the use of Wi-Fi in their courtrooms and by jurors. [Courtroom Technology | Northern District of California | United States District Court](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### presentation procedure Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: (b) Copyright Cases . To the extent then known or readily available and feasible, a party who bases a claim on copyright must include as exhibits the copyright registration (or, if there is no relevant copyright registration yet, the relevant copyright application) and one or more demonstrative exemplars of the copying and infringement. Such party… [ADR Local Rules | Northern District of California | United States District Court](https://cand.uscourts.gov/rules-forms-fees/local-rules/adr-local-rules) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### technology walkthrough Scope: courtwide The Northern District of California publishes guidance advising counsel to fully test their equipment and schedule a courtroom visit to test it before the proceeding. Evidence excerpt: The court highly recommends that counsel be familiar their equipment and fully test prior to using anything in the courtroom. ... schedule a visit in the courtroom to test everything before the proceeding. [Courtroom Technology | Northern District of California | United States District Court](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### specialized evidence software Scope: courtwide For e-evidence requiring specialized software, the Northern District of California publishes a process for at least two business days' advance notice through the Courtroom Deputy and approval by the judge and Court IT. Evidence excerpt: at least two (2) business days advance notice, counsel may request via the Courtroom Deputy that the specialized software be loaded by counsel prior to use of the system. If the judge and the court’s IT Department approve... [Courtroom Technology | Northern District of California | United States District Court](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### 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.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/) - [Official roster](https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/) - [cand.uscourts.gov judicial profile or roster](https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3228/jon-steven-tigar/) - [ADR Local Rules | Northern District of California | United States District Court](https://cand.uscourts.gov/rules-forms-fees/local-rules/adr-local-rules) - [Courtroom Technology | Northern District of California | United States District Court](https://cand.uscourts.gov/attorneys/courtroom-technology) - [Standing Order for All Criminal Cases Before District Judge Jon S. Tigar](https://cand.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/standing-orders/Criminal-Standing-Order-JST-05.13.25.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) - [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/3228/jon-steven-tigar/) - [Wikidata: Jon S. Tigar](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6271501) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3228/jon-steven-tigar/) - [Wikidata: Jon S. Tigar](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6271501) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jon-s-tigar", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jon-s-tigar", "name": "Jon Steven Tigar | KnowJudges", "description": "Jon Steven Tigar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 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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.