--- title: "Karen Gren Scholer | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-gren-scholer" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Karen Gren Scholer U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas - State: Texas - 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 - Judge, District Court, N.D. Texas, 2018-present - presiding judge, Dallas County civil district judges, 2007-present - American judge serving on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, appointed by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2018 - 2014–2018: Principal at Carter Scholer Arnett Hamada & Mockler, PLLC, later co-managing partner - Judge, Texas District Court, Ninety-Fifth Judicial District, 2001-2008 - 2001–2008: Judge of the 95th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, re-elected in 2004 - 1982–2000: Associate and later partner at Strasburger & Price, LLP in Dallas - Official court page: Northern District of Texas — Judge Karen Gren Scholer - Recognized as the first Asian-American federal district judge in Texas ### Education ### Additional information - March 5, 2018: Confirmed by the Senate 95–0. - March 6, 2018: Commissioned as judge, succeeding Jorge Antonio Solis. - Private practice, Dallas, TX, 2014-2018 - Arbitrator and mediator, American Arbitration Association, 2014-2018 - 2017: Renominated by President Trump to the Northern District of Texas. - 2016: Nominated by President Obama to the Eastern District of Texas; nomination expired without Senate action. - Private practice, Dallas, TX, 2009-2013 - 2009–2013: Partner at Jones Day. - 2000–2008: Partner at Andrews Kurth in Houston. - Private practice, Dallas, TX, 1982-2000 - Born Karen Anne Gren in 1957 in Tokyo, Japan, Scholer obtained a B.A. in 1979 from Rice University and a J.D. in 1982 from Cornell Law School. - Date of birth: 1957-01-01 - focusing on employment, commercial, and antitrust law. - Also held the role of an arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association. - Birth place: Tokyo, Japan ## 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/4268601) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4268601) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4268601) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8656/karen-gren-scholer/) - [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/8656/karen-gren-scholer/) - [Wikidata: Karen Gren Scholer](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23092057) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-gren-scholer", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-gren-scholer", "name": "Karen Gren Scholer | KnowJudges", "description": "Karen Gren Scholer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. 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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.