--- title: "Katherine Marie Menendez | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/katherine-marie-menendez" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Katherine Marie Menendez U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - State: Minnesota - 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 - American attorney and United States district judge for the District of Minnesota, a position she has held since December 21, 2021 - Before this, she held the role of a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of Minnesota from April 28, 2016, to December 2021 - Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota, 1997-2016 - Soros Justice Fellow, 1997-1999; assistant federal defender, 1999-2016; chief of training, 2006-2016 - Adjunct professor, St. Thomas University School of Law, 2003-2005 - Adjunct professor, Hamline University School of Law, 2001-2003 - She also held the role of a Soros Justice Fellow (1997–1999) and held adjunct teaching roles at Hamline University, St. Thomas University, and the University of Minnesota School of Law - Law clerk, Hon. Sam J. Ervin III, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1996-1997 ### Education - New York University School of Law — J.D. (1996) - University of Chicago — B.A. (1993) ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, D. Minnesota, 2016-present - Nominated by President Joe Biden on September 20, 2021, to replace Judge Joan N. Ericksen, who had assumed senior status in 2019. - Born 1971 in Emporia, Kansas. - Date of birth: 1971 - Birth place: Emporia ## 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 ### remote hearing recording Scope: statewide Minnesota Judicial Branch remote-hearing guidance says recording or broadcasting a remote proceeding is not authorized except as provided by court rules. Evidence excerpt: No recording or broadcasting of any remote proceeding is authorized other than as provided by court rules. [Remote Hearing Information](https://mncourts.gov/remote-hearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### camera audio recording devices Scope: statewide Minnesota court guidance cites Rule 4 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice and says pictures or voice recordings are not allowed except the official court record. Evidence excerpt: According to Rule 4 of the MN Rules of General Practice for the District Courts, no pictures or voice recordings [Security & Weapons Screening - Going to Court](https://mncourts.gov/find-courts/hennepin/going-to-court/security-weapons-screening) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11226646) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11226646) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11226646) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/10085/katherine-m-menendez/) - [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/10085/katherine-m-menendez/) - [Judge Katherine Marie Menendez](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11226646) - [Wikidata: Katherine M. Menendez](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108461060) - [www.mnd.uscourts.gov](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/chambers-contact-information) - [U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9325/katherine-m-menednez/) - [Remote Hearing Information](https://mncourts.gov/remote-hearings) - [Security & Weapons Screening - Going to Court](https://mncourts.gov/find-courts/hennepin/going-to-court/security-weapons-screening) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9325/katherine-m-menednez/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/10085/katherine-m-menendez/) - [Judge Katherine Marie Menendez](https://www.fjc.gov/node/11226646) - [Wikidata: Katherine M. Menendez](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108461060) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/katherine-marie-menendez", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/katherine-marie-menendez", "name": "Katherine Marie Menendez | KnowJudges", "description": "Katherine Marie Menendez, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. 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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.