---
title: "Kathleen Cardone | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-cardone"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-02"
---

# Kathleen Cardone

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Western 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

- Federal judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (2003–present)
- Judge, District Court, W.D. Texas, 2003-present
- Judge, El Paso County Texas Three Hundred and Eighty-Eighth District Court, 1999-2000
- Judge, 383rd and 388th Judicial District Courts of Texas (1995–1996; 1999–2000)
- Judge, El Paso County Texas Three Hundred and Eighty-Third District Court, 1995-1996
- Associate judge, Family Law Court of Texas, 1990-1995
- Judge, El Paso Texas Municipal Court, 1983-1990
- Briefing attorney, Hon. Philip A. Schraub, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1979-1980
- Long‐serving federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

### Education

- St. Mary’s University School of Law — J.D. (1979)
- B.A., State University of New York at Binghamton (1976)

### Additional information

- Chaired the committee that produced the influential 2017 “Cardone Report” reviewing the Criminal Justice Act.
- Nominated on May 1, 2003, confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 2003, and commissioned the following day.
- Mediator, Texas Arbitration Mediation Services, 2001-2003
- Visiting judge, State of Texas, 2001-2003
- Instructor (part-time), El Paso Community College, 1997-2003
- Mediator and visiting judge roles (1997–2003)
- Attorney and mediator, Texas Arbitration Mediation Services, 1997-1999
- Private practice, Texas, 1980-1990
- Born December 25, 1953, in Medina, New York.
- Date of birth: 1953-01-01
- Images of Judge Kathleen Cardone are available in public sources, including news and image archives.
- Birth place: Medina, NY

## 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

### electronic trial exhibits

Scope: courtwide

The Western District of Texas publishes JERS guidance for electronically capturing trial evidence and provides evidence-presentation equipment to members of the bar practicing in the district.

Evidence excerpt: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas uses the Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) to capture evidence electronically during a trial. The Court provides evidence presentation equipment to any member of the bar practicing within the Western District of Texas.

[JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### electronic exhibit submission

Scope: courtwide

For JERS electronic exhibit submission, the Western District of Texas publishes a single-storage-device requirement and directs parties to submit files by the deadline set by the assigned courtroom deputy.

Evidence excerpt: All files must be provided on a single storage device such as a CD, DVD, or USB drive. ... All files must be submitted based on the deadline set by the CRD associated with your case.

[JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### 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/1391926)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391926)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391926)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/535/kathleen-cardone/)
- [JERS, Jury Evidence Recording System](https://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/for-attorneys/jers-jury-evidence-recording-system)
- [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/535/kathleen-cardone/)
- [Wikidata: Kathleen Cardone](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6376672)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 763 | 129 | 0.8 | 129 |
| 2y | 925 | 235 | 1.6 | 235 |
| 5y | 1452 | 738 | 3.9 | 738 |
| 10y | 1838 | 1121 | 4.4 | 1121 |

Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/


## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — 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](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.
