--- title: "Kathleen Kay | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-kay-9279" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Kathleen Kay U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · Magistrate ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - Role: Magistrate - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-06-30 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - In 2026, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a $124.5 million judgment in a case Kay had handled as magistrate judge. - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Magistrate Judge · start date: 2007-12-17 · end date: 2023-12-16 · notes: First appointed Dec 17 2007; retired Dec 16 2023 - U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, appointed in 2007 and retiring in December 2023 after 16 years of service - Began her legal career working as a legal secretary, an experience she later said inspired her to pursue law - Kay held the role of a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, a position renewable for eight years - The appeal centered on judicial disclosure issues: Kay had disclosed that William Monk’s daughter was her law clerk, but the majority found this insufficient to reveal her nearly 40-year close friendship with Monk, who was IFG’s lead lawyer and a groomsman at Kay’s wedding ### Education - Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center — Law — J.D. (1985) - B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1982 and her J.D. from LSU School of Law in 1985. - Louisiana State University — Political Science — B.A. (1982) - It lists an LSU bachelor’s degree in 1982 following a sabbatical, LSU law school and Louisiana Law Review selection, with professors Pugh, Litvinoff, Crawford and Hargrave recalled as influences. ### Additional information - Present-tense retirement wording appears copied from a 2023 article. - Magistrate, District Court, W.D. Louisiana, 2007-present - Her retirement in 2023 marked the end of a long career in federal judicial service, and her recent case underscores the ongoing importance of transparency in judge-lawyer relationships - First appointed on December 17, 2007 and retired on December 16, 2023. - It gives a magistrate appointment in December 2007 and retirement in December 2023, with civil/criminal procedural work. - Duration caution:** The overview inconsistently calls December 2007–December 2023 both 16 years and nearly 17 years; the stated endpoints support about 16 years. - Invited to join the Louisiana Law Review during her first year at law school - Sourced from. - Lake Charles Division. - Born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Kay attended Immaculate Conception School and St. Louis High School. - The collected biographical information identifies Kay grew up in Lake Charles, sixth child of Lewis and Louise Harrop Kay, and attended Immaculate Conception School and St. Louis High School. - Legal-secretary work inspired her legal career. - It names husband Scott McPherson and two children. ## 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 or photographic presentation of evidence Scope: statewide Louisiana trial judges may authorize electronic or photographic means for presenting evidence, preserving the record, counsel use, or judicial-administration purposes. Evidence excerpt: A trial judge may authorize ... the use of electronic or photographic means for the presentation of evidence [Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3A(9)](https://www.lasc.org/Court_Rules?p=CJC) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### broadcast recording photography Scope: statewide Louisiana judges generally prohibit broadcasting, televising, recording, or photographing courtroom proceedings unless a Canon 3A(9) exception applies. Evidence excerpt: a judge shall prohibit broadcasting, televising, recording, or taking photographs in the courtroom [Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3A(9)](https://www.lasc.org/Court_Rules?p=CJC) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### appellate extended media coverage Scope: statewide Louisiana appellate courts may permit extended media coverage in public appellate proceedings, subject to the authority of the court and presiding judge or panel. Evidence excerpt: An appellate court may permit broadcasting, televising, recording, and taking photographs of public judicial proceedings [Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3A(9)](https://www.lasc.org/Court_Rules?p=CJC) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9279/kathleen-kay/) - [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9279/kathleen-kay/) - [U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9279/kathleen-kay/) - [Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3A(9)](https://www.lasc.org/Court_Rules?p=CJC) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9279/kathleen-kay/) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-kay-9279) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=42) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://ballotpedia.org/Kathleen_Kay) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9279/kathleen-kay/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-kay-9279", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-kay-9279", "name": "Kathleen Kay | KnowJudges", "description": "Kathleen Kay, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 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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.