--- title: "Joseph Robert Goodwin | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-r-goodwin" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Joseph Robert Goodwin U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia - State: West Virginia - 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, S.D. West Virginia, 1995-present - Current role: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (since 1995) - United States district judge for the Southern District of West Virginia, appointed in 1995 and still serving - Judge, Ripley West Virginia Municipal Court, 1972-1973 - Served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1965 to 1967 during the Vietnam War - His son, Booth Goodwin, is U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia ### Education ### Additional information - Chief Judge: 2007–2012 - Appointed: February 28, 1995, by President Bill Clinton to replace Robert Jackson Staker - Confirmed: May 8, 1995, by the U.S. Senate; commissioned May 10, 1995 - Private practice, Charleston, WV, 1970-1995 - City attorney, Ripley, WV, 1971-1972 - Born December 23, 1942 in Ripley, West Virginia, Goodwin obtained a B.S. in 1965 from West Virginia University and a J.D. in 1970 from West Virginia University College of Law. - U.S. Army, JAG Corps, 1965-1967 - Date of birth: 1942-01-01 - His daughter-in-law, Amy Shuler Goodwin, is mayor of Charleston, WV. - His nephew is former U.S. Senator Carte Goodwin. - Birth place: Ripley, WV ## 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: . In order to reserve equipment, attorneys must file the Notice of Certification for Use of Courtroom Technology ( LR Civ P 7.1 [a][10] or LR Cr P 12.1 [e]) and contact the court's IT staff at 304/347- 3005. Appointments ideally should be scheduled at least one week prior to the court appearance. [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of West Virginia | United States District Court](https://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/attorneys/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/1381361) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381361) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1381361) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1239/joseph-robert-goodwin/) - [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of West Virginia | United States District Court](https://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/attorneys/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/1239/joseph-robert-goodwin/) - [Wikidata: Joseph Robert Goodwin](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6286598) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-r-goodwin", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/joseph-r-goodwin", "name": "Joseph Robert Goodwin | KnowJudges", "description": "Joseph Robert Goodwin, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. 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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.