--- title: "Keith Starrett | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Keith Starrett U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi - State: Mississippi - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Senior U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi who assumed inactive status on October 31, 2025, after serving on the court since 2004 - Judge, District Court, S.D. Mississippi, 2004-present - Judge, Mississippi Circuit Court, Fourteenth Judicial District, 1992-2004 - Practiced law in Mississippi from 1975 to 1992, held the role of a part-time assistant district attorney in the 14th Judicial District in 1981, and was a Mississippi Circuit Court judge from 1992 to 2004 ### Education ### Additional information - Assistant district attorney (part-time), Fourteenth Judicial District, MS, 1981-present - Confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 2004, received his commission on December 13, 2004, and served until April 30, 2019, when he assumed senior status - On July 6, 2004, President George W. Bush nominated Starrett to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, a seat vacated by Charles W. Pickering. - Private practice, Mississippi, 1975-1992 - Born in McComb, Mississippi, in 1951, Starrett earned a B.S. in 1972 from Mississippi State University and a J.D. in 1974 from the University of Mississippi School of Law. - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - Birth place: McComb, MS ## 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: . For best utilization of this equipment, the Court recommends attorneys test laptop computers used to present evidence in the courtroom before use in open court. Attention should also be given to testing the compatibility of the VCR and the cassette player. [Courtroom Technologies | Southern District of Mississippi | United States District Court](https://www.mssd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technologies) 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/1392241) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392241) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392241) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3086/keith-starrett/) - [Courtroom Technologies | Southern District of Mississippi | United States District Court](https://www.mssd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technologies) - [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/3086/keith-starrett/) - [Wikidata: Keith Starrett](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6385062) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett", "name": "Keith Starrett | KnowJudges", "description": "Keith Starrett, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett#judge", "name": "Keith Starrett", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392241", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3086/keith-starrett/" ], "birthDate": "1951", "birthPlace": "McComb, MS", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Mississippi State University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Mississippi School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Mississippi", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/mississippi" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Keith Starrett", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/keith-starrett" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 34 | 1 | Not available | 1 | | 2y | 133 | 36 | 3.9 | 36 | | 5y | 390 | 282 | 6.3 | 282 | | 10y | 1410 | 1301 | 7 | 1301 | 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.