--- title: "Karen Wells Roby | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-wells-roby-louisiana-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Karen Wells Roby U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - The Chief United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, serving since February 22, 1999 - position: Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge · court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · start year: 2017 · end year: 2021 - position: U.S. Magistrate Judge · court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · start year: 1999 - Judge Pro Tem, Parish of New Orleans - Civil District Court, 1998–1999 - position: Judge pro tempore · court: Civil District Court for the Parish of New Orleans · start year: 1998 · end year: 1999 - position: Partner and Head of Product Liability Section — Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox, New Orleans · end year: 1998 - Commissioner, Louisiana Commission for Law and Civic Education - Law Clerk, State of Louisiana - Civil District Court (to Bernette J. Johnson) - position: Judicial Law Clerk to Justice Bernette J. Johnson — Louisiana Supreme Court / Civil District Court - position: Associate — Bernard Cassisa - defense firm, products liability - position: Associate — Deutsch Kerrigan & Stiles ### Education - Duke University School of Law — Judicial Studies — LL.M. (2023) - Tulane University Law School — Law — J.D. (1987) - Bachelor's — Xavier University of Louisiana ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, E.D. Louisiana, 1999-present - In 2023, Judge Roby received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society for her decades of service to the legal profession, mentorship, and leadership. - Practitioner, Deutsch Kerrigan Stiles, 1999–1999 - Practitioner, Deutsch Kerrigan Stiles, through 1998 - J.D. — Tulane Univ. — 1987 - B.S.B.A. — Xavier Univ. of Louisiana — 1983 - Practitioner, Bernard Cassisa - Practitioner, Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox - She also obtained a Master’s Degree in Judicial Studies from Duke University’s Masters of Judicial Studies Program Tulane Law School - Adjunct Professor, Tulane Univ. - Judge Roby is recognized as a trailblazer for Black lawyers and judges, a dedicated public servant, and a mentor whose work spans the judiciary, legal education, and community leadership ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=40) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9271/karen-wells-roby/) - [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/9271/karen-wells-roby/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Karen Wells Roby](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.louisianajudiciary.com/judges/karen-wells-roby-louisiana-us-magistrate) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fedbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/RobyOctober2011-pdf-3.pdf) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://law.tulane.edu/trailblazing-alumna-judge-karen-wells-roby-l87-honored-lifetime-service-law) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-MJS-Bios-Photos.pdf) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9271/karen-wells-roby/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Karen Wells Roby](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-wells-roby-louisiana-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/karen-wells-roby-louisiana-us-magistrate", "name": "Karen Wells Roby | KnowJudges", "description": "Karen Wells Roby, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. 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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.