--- title: "Joseph Normand Laplante | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-n-laplante" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Joseph Normand Laplante U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire - State: New Hampshire - 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 - Judge, District Court, D. New Hampshire, 2007-present - Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire; held the role of Chief Judge from 2011 to 2018 - American attorney and jurist who serves as a United States District Judge for the District of New Hampshire, appointed in 2007 by President George W. Bush - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Massachusetts, 2000-2002 - Trial attorney, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1998-1999 - Senior assistant attorney general, State of New Hampshire, 1993-1998 - Private practice, 1990–1993; senior assistant attorney general, 1993–1998 - His earlier career included private practice, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. attorney’s offices in Massachusetts and New Hampshire - He is an adjunct professor of law at Boston College, University of New Hampshire, and Suffolk University Law Schools ### Education - Georgetown University Law Center — J.D. (1990) - Georgetown University — B.A. (1987) ### Additional information - Notable Case: In 2025, Laplante issued a preliminary injunction blocking President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, ruling that deprivation of U.S. citizenship constituted irreparable harm - Joseph Normand Laplante received his federal judicial commission on December 28, 2007 and served as chief judge from 2011 to 2018. - Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation; appointing authority: George W. Bush; from 2007-12-28 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Massachusetts, 2000–2002; first assistant U.S. attorney, New Hampshire, 2002–2007. - DOJ trial attorney, 1998–1999. - Private practice, New Hampshire, 1990-1993 - He earned Georgetown undergraduate and law degrees in 1987 and 1990. - Born July 27, 1965, in Nashua, New Hampshire. - Date of birth: 1965 - Laplante is a member of the Webster-Batchelder American Inn of Court and has served on multiple New Hampshire Bar Association committees. - He has also held leadership roles in community organizations, including the Nashua Region Board of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua - Birth place: Nashua, NH ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) . Provides information on courtroom technology that allows deliberating jurors to view exhibits electronically. . [Courtroom Technology | District of New Hampshire | United States District Court](https://www.nhd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) 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/1392671) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392671) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392671) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1856/joseph-normand-laplante/) - [Courtroom Technology | District of New Hampshire | United States District Court](https://www.nhd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [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/1856/joseph-normand-laplante/) - [Wikidata: Joseph Normand Laplante](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6285834) - [Laplante, Joseph Normand | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392671) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1856/joseph-normand-laplante/) - [Wikidata: Joseph Normand Laplante](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6285834) - [Laplante, Joseph Normand | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392671) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-n-laplante", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-n-laplante", "name": "Joseph Normand Laplante | KnowJudges", "description": "Joseph Normand Laplante, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. 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/joseph-n-laplante#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-n-laplante#judge", "name": "Joseph Normand Laplante", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-n-laplante", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392671", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1856/joseph-normand-laplante/" ], "birthDate": "1965", "birthPlace": "Nashua, NH", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Georgetown University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Georgetown University Law Center" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "New Hampshire", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/new-hampshire" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph Normand Laplante", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-n-laplante" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 143 | 27 | 1.3 | 27 | | 2y | 208 | 39 | 1.6 | 39 | | 5y | 424 | 202 | 5.7 | 202 | | 10y | 882 | 653 | 8.1 | 653 | 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.