--- title: "Jonathan Eugene Hawley | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jonathan-eugene-hawley" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Jonathan Eugene Hawley U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American judge who serves as a United States District Judge for the Central District of Illinois since November 15, 2024 - From February 28, 2014 to November 2024, Hawley held the role of a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the same court, appointed to fill the vacancy left by Judge John A. Gorman - Federal Public Defender's Office, Central District of Illinois, 1999-2014 - Adjunct professor, University of Illinois College of Law, 2013 - Law clerk, Hon. James D. Heiple, Illinois Supreme Court, 1998-1999 - Law clerk, Hon. Michael P. McCuskey, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, 1998 - Law clerk, Hon. Michael P. McCuskey, Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, 1997-1998 ### Education - DePaul University College of Law — J.D. (1997) - B.A. — University of Illinois at Chicago — 1992 ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, C.D. Illinois, 2014-present - Nominated by President Joe Biden on July 3, 2024, to replace Judge James Edward Shadid, who assumed senior status on September 27, 2024. - Chief federal public defender, 2011-2014 - Acting federal public defender, 2010-2011 - First assistant federal public defender, 2003-2010 - Chief, Appellate Division, 2000-2010 - Assistant federal public defender, 2000-2003 - Born 1971 in Peoria, Illinois. - Hawley’s legal career spans over 15 years in the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, where he rose through the ranks from Research and Writing Specialist to Chief Federal Public Defender. ## 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/13761886) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761886) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761886) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9220/jonathan-e-hawley/) - [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/9220/jonathan-e-hawley/) - [Judge Jonathan Eugene Hawley](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761886) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jonathan-eugene-hawley", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jonathan-eugene-hawley", "name": "Jonathan Eugene Hawley | KnowJudges", "description": "Jonathan Eugene Hawley, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. 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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.