---
title: "Kirk Edward Sherriff | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kirk-edward-sherriff"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Kirk Edward Sherriff

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- State: California
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-08-16

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- American lawyer and judge who has held the role of a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California since February 7, 2024
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of California, 2002-2024
- He then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California in 2002, serving in the Civil Division (2002–2007) and Criminal Division (2007–2024)
- From 1995 to 2001, Sherriff was an associate at White &
- Law clerk, Hon. Deborah T. Poritz, Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1996-1997
- He held the role of a law clerk to Chief Justice Deborah Poritz of the New Jersey Supreme Court (1996–1997)
- Before law school, he worked as a high school teacher in the Mississippi Teacher Corps.

### Education

- Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1995
- Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Columbia University in 1990

### Additional information

- 7, 2024 by President Biden
- 31, 2024, Senate vote 54–45
- Chief of the White Collar Crime Unit (2012–2015) and Chief of the Fresno Office (2015–2024).
- Criminal Division, 2007-2024; chief, White Collar Crime Unit, 2013-2015; chief, Fresno Office, 2015-2024
- Private practice, New York City, 1995-1996, 1997-2001
- Born 1968 in Berkeley, California.
- Born: 1968, Berkeley, CA
- Date of birth: 1968
- Appointed: Feb.
- Confirmed: Jan.
- Full name: Kirk Edward Sherriff
- As a U.S. District Judge, Sherriff presides over cases in the Eastern District of California, the largest federal judicial district in the state, with main offices in Sacramento and Fresno.
- His chambers are located at the Robert E. Coyle United States Courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA.
- Birth place: Berkeley

## 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


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/)
- [Official roster](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/)
- [caed.uscourts.gov judicial profile or roster](https://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/)
- [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)
- [Judge Kirk Edward Sherriff](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761471)
- [Wikidata: Kirk E. Sherriff](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124395573)
- [Judge Kirk Edward Sherriff](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761471)
- [Wikidata: Kirk E. Sherriff](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124395573)

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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 | 1029 | 250 | 0.3 | 250 |
| 2y | 1563 | 457 | 1.6 | 457 |
| 5y | 1766 | 582 | 2.5 | 582 |
| 10y | 1766 | 582 | 2.5 | 582 |

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.
