---
title: "Jorge Luis Alonso | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jorge-luis-alonso"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Jorge Luis Alonso

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- State: Illinois
- Role: U.S. District Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Alonso has been active in the Illinois legal community, serving on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism since 2017, and as faculty for the Illinois Judicial Conference and New Judge Seminar
- Judge, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 2014-present
- 2014–present: U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Illinois, nominated August 5, 2014, confirmed by the Senate December 16, 2014, and commissioned December 19, 2014
- Jorge L. Alonso is a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed in 2014 by President Barack Obama, with a background as an Illinois state judge and assistant public defender
- Assistant public defender, Cook County, IL, 1991-2003
- Former Cook County judge and public defender with over two decades of legal experience
- He is also an adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School

### Education

- George Washington University Law School — J.D. (1991)
- University of Miami — B.A. (1988)

### Additional information

- 2003–2014: Associate Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, presiding over felony cases and serving on the Illinois Supreme Court Special Committee on Capital Cases
- Jorge Luis Alonso was born in 1966 in Sagua La Grande, Cuba, and grew up in Miami, Florida.
- Date of birth: 1966-01-01
- Birth place: Sagua La Grande, Cuba

## 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/1394711)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394711)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394711)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/86/jorge-luis-alonso/)
- [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/86/jorge-luis-alonso/)
- [Wikidata: Jorge Luis Alonso](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17486439)

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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 | 300 | 40 | 2.1 | 40 |
| 2y | 725 | 296 | 2.8 | 296 |
| 5y | 1585 | 1095 | 3.6 | 1095 |
| 10y | 3180 | 2673 | 4.6 | 2673 |

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.
