Karen Frink Wolf at a glance
- Current role
- Recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Jurisdiction
- Rhode Island · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Karen Frink Wolf
Recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge · U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island · U.S. Magistrate Judge · Recalled · Assignment source ↗
Appointment and verification
- Source authority
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Biography
Professional career
- On October 20, 2021, the judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine announced that Wolf had been selected to serve as a Magistrate Judge, succeeding John H. Rich III, who retired April 1, 2022
- U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, appointed in April 2022 after selection by the court’s judges in October 2021
- District of Maine magistrate judge; visiting service by designation in Rhode Island
- U.S. magistrate judge based in the District of Maine who has also served by designation in Rhode Island
- Before joining the bench, Wolf was a partner at Verrill Dana LLP in Portland, Maine, on the firm’s Executive Board, and practiced litigation for 36 years.
- Before the bench, she practiced litigation for 36 years and was a partner at Verrill in Portland; she is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Education
- B.A. from the University of New Hampshire and her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law (1985).
- University of New Hampshire — bio-444b8abfce43; bio-b7f36aef788c; user_supplied_research
- Syracuse University College of Law — bio-444b8abfce43; bio-b7f36aef788c; user_supplied_research
Additional information
- Former Verrill partner in Portland, Maine; litigation practice spanning 36 years.
- She is admitted to the bars of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals District of Maine
- She has served on the Maine Judicial Branch Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure and the First Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Advisory Committee, and was an adjunct professor of Pretrial Practice at the University of Maine School of Law District of Maine
- She is a Fellow and Regent of the American College of Trial Lawyers, recognized by the Maine State Bar Association and Katahdin Counsel Program for extensive pro bono work.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
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.
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 ↗
Recording and broadcasting
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.
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 ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
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 ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
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 ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked July 29, 2026.
Biography sources checked July 29, 2026.
U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster
Identity source · HTML · Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts · Source checked July 29, 2026
View U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster ↗Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗