--- title: "Kathleen Smithgall Lane | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-s-lane" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Kathleen Smithgall Lane U.S. District Court for the District of Montana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Montana - State: Montana - 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 lawyer and judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana, appointed in 2026 - Law clerk, Hon. Timothy M. Tymkovich, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 2018-2019 - Law clerk, Hon. Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 2017-2018 - U.S. district judge for the District of Montana - Her prior work included federal judicial clerkships, private practice, and service in the Montana solicitor general’s office ### Education - George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School — J.D. (2017) - Bachelor’s degree from Furman University in 2014 and a J.D. from George Mason University in 2017. - Furman University — B.A. (2014) ### Additional information - She received her judicial commission on June 18, 2026; the district court announced that she would begin service on July 13, 2026. - Private practice, Arlington, Virginia, 2023-2025 - Deputy solicitor general, State of Montana, 2022-2023 - Assistant solicitor general, State of Montana, 2021-2022 - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 2020-2021 - 2010 Bozeman High School graduate and class president. - Born October 16, 1991, in Atlanta, Georgia. - She faced questions in Senate hearings about her judicial experience and political background - Political campaigns, including Steve Daines’ U.S. House run, and has defended state policies in court, including Montana’s restrictions on changing driver’s license gender markers ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Courtroom Technology . The District of Montana provides electronic evidence presentation capabilities in the main courtrooms of each courthouse, as well as in Magistrate courtrooms in Billings, Great Falls, and Missoula. The courtrooms have document cameras for paper, x-ray or photographs, connections for computer-based evidence, ergonomic podiums and witness stands with touch-screen displays for annotation… [Courtroom Technology | District of Montana | United States District Court](https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/13762128) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762128) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762128) - [Courtroom Technology | District of Montana | United States District Court](https://www.mtd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [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) - [Lane, Kathleen Smithgall](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762128) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-s-lane", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kathleen-s-lane", "name": "Kathleen Smithgall Lane | KnowJudges", "description": "Kathleen Smithgall Lane, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. 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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.